It Happened in a Mousedom
by DrawnInTwilight
Summary: Meet Jenny Doe, a social secretary with reddish hair who just moved to a house off Main St USA, Magic Kingdom. And that's all she knows. A host of familiar Disney characters lend a hand, but is it better to know who she is or leave her past behind her?
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N:**__ So here's a mashup of Disney! Someone I made friends with on deviantArt got me started on this whether he meant to or not, so blame him! ^_^ Just a smattering of what I think life would be like if one should happen to live in a Magic Kingdom...So most everything belongs to Disney, I'm just playing in the toy box (as usual!)_

Chapter 1: Welcome Medley

She appeared on one of the coldest and windiest days the kingdom had seen that winter with strawberry curls swirling under her knitted hat and blue eyes that sparkled with anticipation for everyone she met—a special trait that had long since left the spirits of seasoned members of the kingdom. Never the less, there she stood that windy January morning terrified of the new direction her life was headed in, but sporting a smile so bright she'd been told she could lite main street all on her own out of pure determination.

One of the first to notice her was the head mouse himself. Seconds after she appeared the big cheese and his main squeeze ran to greet her. "Greetings!" Mickey Mouse said, patting her on the shoulder. "Welcome to the most magical kingdom on earth!"

"You must be Jenny Doe, moving from the EPCOT!" Minnie Mouse squeaked in delight, taking hold of the girl's gloved hand. "My _goodness _you're tall, aren't you?"

"About five-nine last I checked," Jenny said, smiling at the mice who stood only just passed her elbow. "It's an honor to meet so distinguished persons such as yourselves."

Minnie giggled and blushed. Mickey smiled and rubbed the back of his head. "Aw, shucks," he said. "You make it sound like we started world peace—and besides we live in Toontown, Cinderella and Charming run the Magic Kingdom and other territories. We just came out to make sure you got to your housing okay."

"Oh, well thank you," Jenny said, then glanced around. "I just need to direct the movers to my apartment."

"We'll, help you, dear," Minnie said, with her trademark smile. "You're in Market Place correct? Such beautiful apartments up there!"

"I think so, yes," Jenny said, she knew where her new place was—just not the name of the streets. But she smiled politely and let the mouse grab hold of her hand.

"We'll see you after the movers arrive," Minnie called to Mickey as she started pulling Jenny up the street.

"See you real soon!" Mickey called back with a wave and an adjustment of his scarf.

Minnie smiled up at Jenny again. "He's really the sweetest mouse I know."

"I don't doubt it," Jenny said, returning the smile.

"Now you're here as a Social Secretary, correct?" Minnie asked.

"Yes," Jenny answered, trying to take in every building and person she saw—an impossible task. "Though, they neglected to tell me who it is I will be working for."

"Don't worry, Mrs Darling will tell you all of that when you start up tomorrow," Minnie assured her, waving to shoppers and shopkeepers alike as they passed. "She and Mrs. Banks run the main office for social secretaries around here—over in the Expo Center."

Jenny nodded, but her attention had been caught by the towering structure at the far end of the road: the castle. She couldn't help staring, back home in Gateway Port there were no castles. She'd been able to see the manors in London Terrace and the chateaus on Paris Boulevard, but nothing so grand as this.

"Here we are!" Minnie announced, coming to a halt halfway down main street. Jenny glanced down, then turned to her right. Between the charming shops there was a wide inlet of a street where the kingdom's farmers sold all forms of produce from wheeled carts numerous members of the Main Street society were milling around despite the weather.

"I believe," Minnie said, pulling a small address book from her purse as they made their way through the shoppers—each of whom smiled and nodded or waved as they passed, "that you are number... Ah, yes, 7 Market Place. Which means you... are... _Oh_, you're the yellow one!"

The yellow one was the smallest townhouse on the street, but it made Jenny smile. "Isn't it perfect."

Minnie nodded, thoughtfully. "It does have a special... quality to it, doesn't it?" she said, but she was silently overly happy with her own home in Toontown.

~~°o°~~

According to Minnie, who stopped by again later with her friend Daisy Duck, Jenny probably held the kingdom's record for fastest to unpack. The reason? She didn't have much to unpack in the first palace. Her livingroom consisted of a small sofa, a rocking chair, and a trunk which worked as her coffee table.

"How on earth did you _live_ in Gateway Port?" Daisy asked, her eyes wide as she looked at the sparse apartment.

"Oh, much the same as I will here, I expect," Jenny said with a giggle as she brought them tea and the five cookies that had been the last in her cookie tin. "Though this really is a lot more room than I need..."

Daisy and Minnie exchanged brief glances as Jenny sat in the rocking chair, but she'd seen them and fought the urge to roll her eyes. It definitely wasn't uncommon to meet disapproval with her simplicity.

"You know," Daisy said, trying to sound nonchalant. "I have a few extra things you might like—I could have Donald and the boys bring them by, if you want."

"Really?" Jenny said, giving her a suspicious smirk.

"Yes—Donald's been complaining that my shopping's cluttering up the house," she said very convincingly, but Jenny knew what she was doing too well.

"Ms Duck, if you're offering your collection out of concern," Jenny said with a gracious smile and honest eyes. "I assure, you don't need to worry. I'm actually very good at living within my means."

Daisy blushed a bright pink, and so did Minnie who patted her on the knee. "We'd really feel much more comforted if you let us," she said. "We want to make sure you have enough."

Jenny smiled ruefully as she sighed. "Well if it's that important to you—."

"Wonderful!" Daisy cried happily putting down her tea and clapping. "Oh, I know just how to decorate this place!"

The rest of their tea time was spent with Daisy mapping out nearly every room in the five room house with ideas of how to change everything, along with Minnie's more reasonable input. Jenny watched them go, half amused and half fearful of the changes.

"Good heavens!" Daisy cried out when she saw the girl's bedroom—where Jenny's twin-sized mattress was sitting atop odd-sized boxes.

"What?" Jenny asked, worrying something was wrong.

"Oh, it's nothing," Minnie chimed in quickly, smiling up at her. "Daisy's just used to seeing larger beds in the master bedroom."

Daisy briefly gave Minnie a confused look, but turned back to Jenny with a smile and nodded. "Don't worry though," she assured Jenny. "I might have a spare bed set lying around somewhere."

Jenny continued to smile, but Minnie noticed it was strained. So it wasn't much later that the two friends made their way out of the small townhouse, with the sincere promise to return later in the afternoon.

"How on earth do her parents let her live like that?" Daisy demanded as they climbed into her car. She froze after the words left her beak, thinking that maybe Jenny's family had been too poor or that Jenny had been an orphan. "She does have parents, right?"

"Nobody knows," Minnie answered with a shrug as Daisy pulled away from the curb.

"What do you mean 'nobody knows'?" Daisy demanded, making the car practically fly down the roads. "Someone has to at least have an idea."

"You remember that girl I told you about a couple of years ago?" Minnie asked, struggling to hold the conversation as she gripped the doorhandle for dear life. "The one Belle found when she was visiting Jane Porter—at the outpost?"

"The one they found in the water?" Daisy asked slowly, abruptly pulling into the rotary in front of the castle and ignoring the blaring horns of infuriated drivers. "Didn't you say Belle had her nursed back to health and gave her a job?"

"Yes," Minnie confirmed. "As her secretary."

Daisy frowned for a moment, then gasped in understanding, now narrowly missing the snow covered topiaries outside of the Fantasyland tea hall as she sped toward Toontown. "You mean—Jenny was—She really doesn't remember anything?"

Minnie shook her head. The last few minutes of their drive, which should have taken at least double the time if anyone else were driving, was spent in a thoughtful silence.

"Well then," Daisy said as she swung the car onto the dock in front of Donald's boat. "That settles it."

"Settles what?" Minnie asked, trying to calm her heart down.

"It's up to me to make sure that she gets a proper home," Daisy said decidedly, unbuckling her seatbelt.

"You?" Minnie asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Alright, it's up to us, then," Daisy said and got out of the car.

"Now wait a minute!" Minnie called after her and unbuckled her seatbelt, but Daisy was already rushing down the dock.


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N:**__ Most of everything belongs to Disney, I'm just mashing it all together! Oh, and the names Adam and Ferdinand aren't (so far as I know) Disney issued names, they're just commonly used by those in the Disney fandom circuits ^_^ Enjoy!_

Chapter 2

Jenny sighed and sat down around two o'clock with her tea and book of fairy tales, a habit she'd picked up from the numerous afternoons working for Belle which had taken her to London Terrace. Her apartment in Gateway Ports had almost felt cluttered with tea and tea pots and cups. In this new house at Market Place, though, they barely filled one of the kitchen cupboards.

It was really coming along, though. With Daisy's overbearing return around noon, the rooms were definitely very filled and very comfortable—and very pink. She knew it would take a while, but she'd find a way to remedy the colors at some point.

Not today, though. Today she was going to just kick back, relax, and enjoy the time she had before Monday and the beginning of her new assignment—whoever that might be. She had the distinct feeling that it could be her last free weekend for a long time. So she sipped her tea and opened the well worn book to her favorite fairytale, just in time for the doorbell to ring.

Stifling a groan, which turned into a laugh because of the irony she saw in it, Jenny put down her tea and book. Opening the door brought in a swell of cold air and revealed two girls, who couldn't look more different, standing on her front stoop.

"Hello," Jenny said, looking curiously back and forth between the two.

"Hi! You're finally home!" the short blonde cried happily with a thick country drawl, bouncing in place.

The darker girl rolled her eyes, then smiled at Jenny. "We're in the apartments over the Jewelry store," she said, turning to point above the store at the very end of Market Place. "I'm Mara Freeman. This is Taryn."

"Hi!" Taryn said again. "Taryn O'Daily."

"Hi," Jenny repeated, watching the energized girl with amusement. "I'm Jenny."

"We know," Mara assured her. "Daisy told us about you."

"We've been trying to catch you all morning," Taryn said. "We're headin' to the bakery, would you like to join us?"

Jenny glanced back at her sofa where her book lay waiting on a pillow. Part of her wanted to stay in the comfort and isolation of her home, but knowing that the girls were friends with Daisy (and probably Minnie too) made it difficult to back out.

"Come on, it's just for some hot cocoa," Taryn prodded, causing Mara to hit her lightly in the arm.

"Alright," Jenny said with a laugh. "Hot cocoa sounds fun."

Taryn gave a cheer and bounced back down the steps as Jenny reached for her coat and hat.

Within the short distance they had to go to reach the bakery (which was little more than a shop or two from the entrance to Market Place), Jenny learned enough information about the two girls that she felt like she'd known them for years (with out trying—Taryn was something of a chatterbox). Apparently Mara worked at the local emporium back towards the train station and had moved to Main Street from Adventureland. Taryn had been born and raised in Frontierland, but she'd moved to Tomorrowland and then Main Street working as a waitress now at a place called Tony's.

As they quickly entered the bakery, Taryn was in the midst of telling a story of how her good looks were the reason she'd left Tomorrowland. "Well, what was I supposed to do?" she asked, following Mara and Jenny (who were laughing) into the shop. "I'd already told him I wasn't interested. What did she want me to do? Be rude and ignore him?"

"It never fails," Mara said quietly to Jenny. "No matter what, she always leads the conversation back to that story."

Jenny, though, was barely listening. She'd stopped dead in her tracks and was staring around at decently crowded shop. Even so late in the morning, the bakery seemed immensely popular. The counter service must have been quick, though, as everyone was seated at counter-tops or tables in the vast space. As much as she loved meeting people, she didn't like the idea of crowds in compact spaces.

"You look half panicked," Taryn pointed out, looping her arm with Jenny's and guiding her toward the counter. "Don't worry, we've got a table on reserve cuz we come here so much. Ain't that right, Dan?"

"Of course,"said the young man with a smile as he used a damp cloth to wipe down the counter. He was tall and wiry with light brown hair and silver eyes that seemed to hold interest in everything. Jenny felt her face grow warm and averted her gaze as he glanced her way.

"Good morning, Miss O'Daily," he said, turning to Taryn and then Mara. "Good morning, Miss Freeman."

"Hello, Dan," Mara said. "Our regular order—but add one for Jenny, too."

Jenny blushed a deep red as Dan smiled at her before nodding.

"Right away, Miss," he said.

Taryn gave an exaggerated sigh as Mara led the way to their seats. "He always calls us 'Miss'," she complained. "No matter how many times I tell him to call me Taryn."

Jenny shook her head but smiled, paying more attention to the other customers than to the conversation. Two women sat together, each dressed magnificently, and were happily chatting about something or other. At two tables very close to them were six children, three girls at one table talking excitedly and three boys playing with little wooden cars on the other tabletop.

Tucked in the corner of the room sat four men who seemed to have an air of importance around them as they talked in hushed tones to each other. There was something familiar about one, a man with auburn hair and a catching smile, but she couldn't place him entirely.

Struggling with the irritation of not being able to place a name with his face, Jenny failed to notice the presence of someone behind her. Grinning, the newcomer used this to his advantage and quickly grabbed her by the shoulders. With a short squeak, Jenny jumped in alarm.

Her eyes went wide as she spun around and a faint blush came to her cheeks. The man let out a rumbling laugh and his blue eyes danced with merriment as he gazed down at her. "Jenny Doe," he said with a grin. "I thought I'd see you on one of these trips."

"Oh?" Jenny asked. "I just moved in—."

"So I've noticed," he said, giving another laugh. "Belle's new secretary is not nearly as much fun to torment."

Even with the shock of his presence, Jenny smirked and raised an eyebrow at her friendly former employer. "Thank you...I think."

"Is there no way we can convince you to come back?" King Adam asked, resting a hand on her shoulder again.

Jenny smiled and gave a small laugh. "No, I'm afraid not."

Adam sighed, but retained his smile. "Well then, let me introduce you to a few husbands of your possible future employers."

"Oh, I would," Jenny said, glancing over her shoulder for Mara and Taryn (who she could see sitting at a table for four along a wall with a large mirror), "but I'm supposed to be—."

"I promise, we'll only rob you of a few minutes from your ever important schedule," he assured her with a grin as he continued to steer her towards the men, who were now watching them curiously.

Jenny tried to protest again. It wasn't that she was scared of meeting the royals, she was just horrible at meeting people if she hadn't prepared for it beforehand—a fact which she was sure King Adam knew and enjoyed disregarding.

"Gents, may I introduce Belle's favorite social secretary," King Adam announced, graciously shoving Jenny forward. "Miss Jennifer Doe."

Each of the men nodded and smiled in greeting. One, who had brown hair and a seemed to be the youngest of the group, smirked mischievously at Adam. "Belle's secretary?" he asked. "And you've dragged the poor girl with you because...?"

King Adam rolled his eyes and smirked. "Because, Ferdinand, she decided to leave us."

"On to greener pasture, then," the familiar one said and laughed as Adam frowned at him. "Perhaps I should let Aurora know, I've heard her praise Miss Doe every time she comes back from visiting your chateau."

Jenny blushed at the compliment, but she was happy that he'd helped explain who he was—King Philip.

"In that case, maybe I should bring her to Cinderella's attention," the King with perfectly coifed black hair commented thoughtfully. "Prudence and the Grand Duke went with Father when he retired to the countryside..."

"What about you, Eric?" Philip asked, turning to the last of the four. "Are you going to get Ariel in on this little scuffle?"

King Eric ran a hand through his mess of black hair as he laughed. "No, no, that's alright," he said, smiling. "I don't think Carlotta would like the competition."

"Snow White might want to, though," King Ferdinand put in.

"Well, as long as Jasmine doesn't decide she wants to hire Miss Doe too, I have to say that Aurora might win this one," Eric said with a laugh.

The Kings continued their little betting pool, which only made Jenny grow more and more uncomfortable. Luckily someone saw her distress and a hand appeared on her elbow.

"Miss Doe, your drink is at your table," Dan's voice said softly.

"Oh yes, I forgot," Adam said, snapping his attention back to her. "I was only supposed to keep you for a few minutes, wasn't I?"

"Can't you join us?" King Ferdinand asked. "We could treat this as the interview for the position."

"Well, I'd love to," she said politely, smiling at them, "but I—."

"Perfect idea," Philip agreed, as though she hadn't spoken. "Dan, bring her cup over this way."

"Hey, fellows!" a voice called to them cheerfully. Jenny, Dan, and the Kings looked up to see a young man who, though just as handsome, was dressed in an outfit that was far more laid-back and his appearance more rugged.

"Well it's about time, Aladdin," Eric said, leaning back in his chair. "You're the last one again."

"Sorry," the former street-rat said with a shrug. "Genie insisted on showing me a vacation idea for mine and Jasmine's anniversary—by actually _taking_ me there."

The Kings laughed and started talking about their respective wife's reaction to their anniversaries. Aladdin smiled and gave Jenny and Dan a wink as he passed them. Jenny looked at him in confusion, but Dan used the cue to pull her away.

"It looked like you needed rescuing from the Kings," Dan said with a slight smirk. "It's lucky that Aladdin showed up too, though."

Jenny smiled, a blush coming to her cheeks again as they got half way to Mara and Taryn's table. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Dan said, stopping as he let go of her arm. "My pleasure, actually."

Jenny's cheeks went red, so did Dan's ears. He quickly gave a small bow and hurried away. Jenny followed suit and joined Mara and Taryn, who were watching her adamantly now, at the table.

She gave them an unsure smile. "Sorry about that. I—."

"You _know_ the _Kings_?" Taryn asked in an astounded whisper, her brown eyes nearly the size of golf balls.

"Well—I—uh—."

"Of course she does!" Mara said rolling her eyes, though she looked just as impressed. "She _is_ a Social Secretary, after all. Didn't Daisy say something about her working for Princess Belle?"

The mention of Daisy got Taryn's mind off her astonishment and onto talking about the most recent visit she'd had with Miss Duck. Jenny smiled absently and sipped her hot chocolate, which quickly captured her full attention. She'd had numerous types of hot cocoa before, living next to Paris Boulevard it was an unavoidable experience, but this surpassed them somehow.

Looking up at the mirror behind her companions, she could see everyone in the room perfectly—from the little girls (one of whom seemed to be telling the others a story about flying as she held her arms out at her sides) to the Kings who'd settled into whatever royal debate that had taken precedent. New customers were at the counter and Dan was serving them with a smile.

Jenny couldn't help watching as he'd say something to get the customers to smile, or when a less than happy guest came to the counter he'd smile at them anyway. Once he finished waiting on the small wave of customers he wiped down the counter and looked up—right over at Jenny's reflection.

She instantly pulled her attention away from the mirror and tried to figure out what Mara and Taryn were talking about. Something involving shoes? A snorkel? It wasn't long before she gave up and glanced at the mirror again. She couldn't understand why he made her so flustered, she was a social secretary for pete's sake! She was normally able to deal with anyone, but for some reason he was different.

Dan glanced at her reflection again.

Yanking her attention away, Jenny heard a giggle and looked up to see Mara grinning at her. "I think he likes you."

Jenny's face burned with embarrassment.

"What?" Taryn asked looking entirely lost. "Who?"

"Dan," Mara said, still watching Jenny. "He hasn't stopped looking at Jenny since we came in."

Taryn seemed to mull this over for a second, then nodded, looking the most delighted Jenny had seen of her yet. "That's true!" she exclaimed clapping her hands. "Oh just imagine! If we get them together, they'll fall in love and get married and have to name children after us because we dragged Jenny out for hot cocoa—it'll be because of us that they met! And—."

"Stop building fairy tales, Taryn," Mara said quickly, noticing anxious expression that was coming to Jenny's face. "You aren't Fairy Godmother, you know."

"I know," Taryn said, looking a little put-out for the reprimand, but Jenny could tell the thoughts hadn't left her mind.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Jenny's first assignment hadn't actually been as a Social Secretary. It had been a governess position—taking care of little Alice Liddel while her older sister was out visiting the EPCOT for a few days. The petite blond would go bouncing off to talk to just about anyone and everyone on her way to flute lessons, then the dentist, then the barber shop. Jenny learned early on, though, that calling her name and enticing her with puzzles or riddles would keep her young charge entirely occupied for a period of time.

For her next task, she'd been sent to assist Chip and Dale, the most famous duo and notorious walnut thieves of the Magic Kingdom. That had been on the request of Daisy Duck, as it appeared Donald was bringing in a harvest of the coveted nuts and didn't want the "irritating rodents" around. Jenny, though, found the chipmunks charming and spent a day with them showing her around Tomorrowland, where they enjoyed a comedy club and technology museum.

Apparently the chipmunks had enjoyed her company too, because she was kept on for two more days with them and always meeting new people within Tomorrowland. Including the Bests—Lucius, who had been instated as the current Mayor, and his wife Honey, who acted as the head of the Tomorrowland charity banquet—and the law enforcement of the area, Buzz Lighyear, Space Ranger Galactic Hero.

Next she was taken on by the high-end contemporary designer, Edna Mode, who was visiting from the Hollywood Studios. The pint-sized, bespectacled woman amazed Jenny with her forward personality from their very first meeting—at which she made Jenny turn in a circle, then slowly nodded.

"Yes... not a new fashion," the renowned woman had said in an accent Jenny couldn't place. "But still a decent design... well made, that's a relief—looks like royal work... A strange shade of magenta, but it works for you."

"Umm... Thanks," Jenny said and gave her an uncertain smile.

Edna had smiled back, then waved for Jenny to follow as she quickly headed off down the street. "Alright, I will allow you to be seen with me," she'd announced. "Come on, Da-ling, we have much to do before that fashion faux pas, Cruella De Vil, requires my presence."

So Jenny spent her day hunting down fabrics and reaching for things on the upper shelves and even being used as a mannequin occasionally when Ms Mode wanted to test colors or patterns against each other. It was definitely a learning experience—especially when they arrived at Cruella De Vil's manor in one of the ritzy neighborhoods off Main St.

"Edna! Darling!" The fashionista shouted as her butler opened the door. "How wonderful to see you again, dear!"

At that point, Jenny thank her lucky stars that this job had heightened her ability to keep from staring. The woman was entirely the opposite of Edna. Where as every design about Edna Mode was clean line and bold through subtle detailing and complimentary color choice, Cruella De Vil was about grandeur and fur and sparkle. But the differences didn't end there. Jenny was pretty sure that Edna was shorter than Mickey and Minnie with short dark hair that was perfectly cut to just below her ears, Cruella was an inch or two taller than Jenny and as skinny as a broomstick with wild two-toned hair and accentuated cheekbones.

The fact that the two of them stood together in the realm of Fashion was astounding.

"Indeed," Edna said and followed the taller woman into the front parlor.

"I didn't know you were bringing someone with you," Cruella said, narrowing her eyes at Jenny in clear disproval of her clothes as she gestured towards the sofas surrounding a coffee table set up with the most elaborate tea she'd ever seen.

"This is Jennifer Doe," Edna said, sitting across from the other designer. "She's my assistant for the day."

"Assistant?" Cruella repeated, suddenly looking thoughtful. "What a charming idea."

Jenny smiled at the scrutiny, though she nearly laughed when she saw Edna's forced expression.

The two women didn't spend much more time on the topic of assistants. Soon they were debating coats—fur verses leather verses cotton verses nylon. Jenny tried to soak in all the information, but sometimes it was just difficult to follow since she had little to no knowledge of any of it.

Even though there were high tensions when Edna and Jenny left, something must have gone right—because two days later (after assisting a hook-handed old sea captain and his first mate resupply their ship, then keeping track of a little girl and her strange blue pet) Jenny found herself hired on by Cruella for a day.

It wasn't the worst experience she'd ever had, but it was exhausting. Not just in the amount of places they went, but all the absurd things they had to do. She was entirely shocked when Cruella referred to Anita Radcliffe, the receptionist in the base office for the agency, as her "dear friend" at the end of the day.

Anita simply smiled from behind her desk and listened politely to all that Cruella had to say, before informing the woman that Jenny was already scheduled with another client for the next day. Then Jenny and Anita watched as the fashionista grew angry before storming out of the office.

Jenny looked back to Anita once the door shut. "I'm working tomorrow?"

The other young woman smiled apologetically. "No, you have the day off," she assured Jenny. "Cruella just doesn't quite understand the concept of 'no' or 'can't'. She'd find a way to force you to work if she knew otherwise."

"Ah. Thank you then."

"You're welcome," Anita said with another smile. "Roger and I are hosting a small get-together, actually. I'd love for you to join."

Jenny's smile grew. She'd always been awkward when it came to making friends, she never knew when she could actually consider a person a friend or just someone nice who happened to be with her. So far she'd spent a good deal of time with Anita, since the two young women were the only ones at the agency who could cover all departments and didn't have children, but both had yet to do anything outside of work that would consist as friendship.

Now, she guessed, there was.

"I'd love to," she said. "Would you like me to bring anything?"

Anita shurgged. "If you'd like to. We're expecting everyone around two."

"Sounds wonderful," Jenny said, smiling brightly as she went for the door.

_**A/N:**__ Just a quick bit ^_^ No worries, though, more actual story is on its way..._


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Jenny arrived at Anita and Roger's house about fifteen minutes early, but that wasn't exactly a big surprise. Their little townhouse wasn't all too far from her own and she'd been so anxious not to be late that she'd nearly left home an hour early. Deciding that was probably not the best thing, she'd tried to relax in her living room. That turned into making laps around the room, fixing and dusting here and there, until she was ready to go crazy. When the hour had whittled down to twenty minutes, she gave up and grabbed the plate of brownies-which were still warm—and bounded out to the sidewalk with the intent to at least walk at a leisurely pace.

It was a ten minute distance for most people, fifteen for some, but somehow it had only taken Jenny a bare five minutes.

So she stood outside for a moment or two, wondering if she should announce herself early—which she knew could be considered rude—or... find something to do besides standing around, staring at the house. Feeling a little awkward, she glanced around and ended up going further down the block. When she reached the corner, a snow-dusted park caught her eye.

It wasn't a large park, but it looked charming—even in the winter—and like a better place to burn a few minutes than pacing the sidewalk. So, with a glance back at the Radcliffes' front stoop, she quickly down the street to the park's gate.

There was a faint breeze in the air, which she only noticed when her curls started moving, but it made her smile. She'd always loved wind, though just less so when it was biting cold out. Now the days were growing warmer and soon she'd be able to feel the wind comb through her hair without freezing again. Now, though, it was still a bit chilly and made her tuck her scarf closer around her neck.

Not many people were in the park, though she did see a few. There was an old couple who were holding hands as they enjoyed a slow paced form of exercise. Further in, on a small pond, a group of skaters had cleared off the ice to make themselves a rink to pull tricks on. Past that, on a surprising hill, a dozen or so children were sledding with at least three parents close at hand.

She smiled as she passed each of them, her long strides making an easy circling of the pond and sledding hill. Everything was peaceful and a quick glance at her watch told her that she was now only two minutes past one. So she turned onto the most direct path towards the exit she'd come in.

"Pongo? _Pongo! No! _Wait—."

Jenny had just rounded a hedge (which, come spring, would be the entrance to a lovely rose garden) when she heard the shouts and seconds later was bowled over by an incredibly inquisitive spotted dog, whom happily sniffed her face before licking and turning to the covered plate of brownies she'd managed to keep safely away from the pavement.

"Pongo, you crazy nut!" the leash-barer sighed in despair.

As he quickly came over, with another Dalmatian trotting next to him obediently, Pongo turned back with a happy bark. Which, of course made Jenny giggle.

"Don't Roger and Anita tell you not to tackle people?" The man asked, then pulled his scarf down to reveal more of his face as he pulled the dog off Jenny's legs. "Very sorry, Miss," he said, carefully helping her to her feet. "Are you alright? He snapped the clip right off the strap. He didn't hurt you did he?"

Jenny was still laughing, the whole situation struck her as incredibly bizarre. "No, no, I'm fine," she said, dusting herself off as he tried to reattach the rogue dog to his leash. "He must have been after my brownies—."

Her sentence broke off and a deep blush filled her cheeks as the stranger looked up again and she recognized his face.

"Mr. Bennett!"

By the size of his eyes, he'd recognized her too.

"Miss Doe!" Dan Bennett gasped. Then he promptly tripped over Pongo's leash as he attempted to climb out of the snow, to which Jenny instinctively reached forward to steady him.

Pongo, for his part, barked happily to the other dalmatian, who seemed to be giving him an reprimanding look as the pair of humans regained their footing.

"Err, sorry about that," Dan mumbled, his cheeks and ears a bright red, though partially from the wind.

"Oh, uh, it's ok," Jenny said, her face just as pink as she smiled at him. "So... you said Roger and Anita—Did you mean Radcliffe?"

Dan returned her smile with one showing that he was grateful that she'd supplied a topic. "Yes, actually," he said, adjusting his hold on the leashes. "This is Perdita—and the rascal you already met is Pongo."

Jenny turned her smile to the dogs and crouched down to pet them on the head. "Yes, a brownie lover, I see," she said as Pongo's nose started toward the covered plate again. She quickly moved it to her other side and turned to the dog's wife, who pressed the crown of her head into Jenny's hand. "And I hear you're going to be a mommy soon, Perdita."

The dalmatian perked up and Jenny could almost swear she would have smiled.

"Are you ready for it?" Jenny asked, petting Perdita's head again.

Instantly the dog shook her head, making Jenny laugh.

"Don't worry, you'll be great," she assured her. "Plus, Anita will help you keep the puppies in line."

Next to the females, Dan and Pongo looked on, both delighted that Jenny was taking the time to converse with a dog in near complete understanding. But then, as a social secretary, she'd picked up quite a few interesting traits along the way.

"I'm heading to the Radcliffe house, actually," Jenny said as she stood up again. "I just wanted to see the park first."

"Got there too early?" Dan asked, a knowing look in his eye.

"Yes, actually," she admitted, giving him a suspicious glance.

He grinned. "So did I. That's how I ended up taking Pongo and Perdita out for them."

Jenny's eyebrows shot up her forehead, then she laughed and his chuckles joined in. The dalmatian pair watched them in high amusement, exchanging thoughtful glances.

"Well then," Jenny said as their laughter subsided, smiling up at him. "I guess we better get going before we're more than fashionably late."

"And what a surprise that would be," Dan agreed, giving the leashes a gentle tug. "I'm sure they'd think I'd gone missing."

"Me too," Jenny said as the dogs led the way out. "Anita's always telling me that I show up almost too early every day."

"My cousin says the same thing," Dan said, staring at the giggling girl next to him in wonder as they unconsciously made their way back down the block.

_**A/N:**__ Aww aren't they so cute ^_^ More characters to be spotlighted soon! And then some more solid plot other than setting up Jenny's surroundings!_


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

In no time at all, the two pairs were climbing the stoop of the brown brick townhouse as Jenny and Dan laughed over similar stories from work. Thanks to a loud bark from Pongo, the door was pulled open and the happy pair found themselves in a snug front hall before it even occurred to either of them to knock. Just as quickly they were being relieved of everything on their persons by an amazingly animated little old woman dressed in something of a maid's outfit who was barely tall enough for her laced head piece to reach half way up Jenny's forearm.

"Oh—thank you," Jenny said, smiling at the woman.

The grayed head of hair poked out from behind the pile of coats with a delighted smile. "Oh no trouble at all, dear," she said cheerfully. "The Radcliffes are right through that door there."

Jenny and Dan looked at the doorway that was only a few steps to the left.

"Thank you," Jenny said, managing to reclaim her plate of brownies, then looked at the little woman skeptically. "Are you sure you've got everything?"

"Here, let me help," Dan offered.

"No, no, no," the little old woman said, turning her nose upward, but smiling at them all the same. "I've got it. You two just run along and enjoy tea."

"But—."

"Go on, go on!" And with that the pair were shooed off toward the front parlor, where they stopped in the curtained doorway to watch the woman lead Pongo and Perdita further down the hall with her armload of coats. Though, to some extent, it looked like the dogs were actually trying to keep her from toppling over. Which made Jenny and Dan share a smile.

"There you two are!"

Jenny and Dan jumped, spinning to see Anita stopping quickly next to them with a large welcoming smile and a tray of appetizers in her hands.

"We were starting to worry about you," she informed them, gesturing for each of them to try the embellished crackers. "I thought for sure we'd have seen you half an hour ago, Jenny! Then you could have joined Dan, here, on his walk to the park."

Again Jenny and Dan shared a smile, but before they could swallow their bites of food to say anything, Dan was abruptly collared by a lanky man with a dollop of blond hair. "There you are, old boy!" he said, giving him a cheerful squeeze. "I was beginning to think you'd run of with our dogs!"

Both nearly choked on the food—Dan due to surprise and Jenny from laughing. Anita smiled and swatted her husband playfully. "Oh Roger! Dan wouldn't do such a thing," she laughed, then took ahold of Jenny's arm. "C'mon, I need to introduce you to everyone."

It was a whirlwind of shaking hands and smiling faces and trying to remember which name went with which for the next hour or so. There was Dan's cousin, Marc, the cheerful baker, sitting on the sofa below the stairs who happily sampled one of Jenny's brownies as she set them down on the small table. Next to him was a girl with stiffly curled red hair and a round nose named Anastasia Tremaine. She gave Jenny a strained smile, as though not used to smiling so much, but her eyes twinkled each time the looked up at Pierre.

Then there were a man and a woman sitting close together on the window seat who were quick with a smile, the newly married James and Darlene (whom everyone called Jim-dear and Darling). Talking with them was Mary Darling, who smiled cheerfully and introduced her husband, George. He was a portly man with a large mustache, but he had a ready smile and complimented on Jenny on having watched the children one night.

"Where are they today?" Jenny asked with a quick glance around the room. "Playing in the snow?"

"I should hope not," George said, though the dismal tone in his voice showed that he suspected they would be.

"Wendy, John, and Michael are out at the Liddel's," Mary provided. "It's Alice's birthday on Monday, but to avoid conflict with school, they're celebrating today."

Jenny nodded. She remembered Alice talking about a party the last time she'd seen the energetic little girl. But there was little time to think on the party as Anita ushered her along.

They'd just gotten to a jovial man whom Anita introduced as Dr. Sweet and Jenny could only describe as immense, when they heard the faint sounds of the doorbell. Moments later, two similar looking women entered the room with the same wary expression that Jenny was sure she'd had moments earlier.

"Eudora! Tiana! You made it," Roger loudly greeted the newcomers.

The elder of the two had a charming smile and short cut greying hair, while the other (probably her daughter) looked about Jenny's age, maybe a little younger, with a beauty that sparkled in her eyes.

"Sorry we're late," the elder said, accepting a hug from Anita, who'd rushed over to the doorway. "I had to fight to get my Tiana to take a day off."

The daughter rolled her eyes, but smiled as she was hugged next. Then Anita looped arms with both women and led them over to Jenny and Dr Sweet.

Looking up, Jenny didn't know whether to groan or laugh at the now evident set up that was going on. The strong doctor was eyeing the daughter with a surprised interest, not that the girl noticed. Even with only limited knowledge of either of them, Jenny knew Anita would get along well with Taryn. And vowed never to let the two meet if she could help it.

"Jenny, Dr. Sweet, this is Tiana," Anita said with a sly glint to her eye. "And her mother Eudora."

Jenny nodded in greeting, which received smiles in return.

"Pleasure to meet you," Dr Sweet said, bending low over Tiana's hand.

"Its—uh—all mine," Tiana said, giving him a small, uneasy smile. Anita and Eudora exchanged hopeful glances.

Moments later, as Tianna and Dr Sweet exchanged pleasantries and Eudora told Jenny about her life a s a seamstress, the last guest arrived—Minnie Mouse. The empire's most beloved lady was greeted enthusiastically as she set down the chocolate chip cookies she'd brought next to Jenny's brownies. Then Minnie happily came over and asked Jenny how work had been going—as well as to thank her for watching Chip and Dale.

"Alright everyone," Anita said, calling everyone's attention from Roger's side by the stairs. "How's about a game?"

A cheerful clamor arose and the party-goers shifted in their spots, eager to play, not caring what the game turned out to be. First they played a few rounds of questions, where one person would think of something and only say 'yes' or 'no' when asked about it, just to get to know each other better. Then came the board games.

"To make it easier, how about we divide into teams of two?" Anita asked. Then she paired Tiana with Dr Sweet as Eudora quickly picked Minnie Mouse as her teammate. Slowly, but surely, Jenny found herself paired off with Dan, who gave her a sheepish smile.

Jenny was sure that her face was a bright crimson as she and Dan were squished very closely on the sofa next to his cousin and Anastasia.

As the games began, Jenny slowly became aware that she'd never been more comfortable in her life, even if it had taken a while to adjust to having Dan squished close beside her. Anita and Roger were hilarious and delightful hosts, though no one could beat them in a game of "guess that tune."

Minnie Mouse beat them all in the trivia games. Minnie, Eudora, George and Mary were the top competitors for pictionary. Jenny surprised herself as she and Dan won nearly every game of Scrabble, with Tiana and Dr Sweet as their main competition.

Even more to her surprise, Jenny's sweet-potato brownies were a big success, which brought out the knowledge that a good number of the people in the house enjoyed cooking or baking. Tiana in particular was passionate about all things food related. She seemed to have her dreams all mapped out, too, and was well on her way to getting them.

"Two different restaurants?" Jenny repeated when the partiers had split off into different groups around the room again. She was still on the sofa with Tiana in the chair closest to her and Anastasia had scooted down to join them on Jenny's left. The young waitress smiled proudly as she nodded.

"How do you find the time?" Anastasia asked.

Tiana shrugged. "Well, Mamma was right," she said. "I don't do this sort of thing often, but it's a sacrifice I'm willin to make if it gets me my restaurant any faster."

Jenny smiled, enjoying the ambition she saw in the other girl's eyes.

"What about y'all?" Tiana asked, helping herself to another brownie square.

"What about us?" Anastasia asked.

"Do you have a dream in mind?" Tiana asked.

A pause settled between the three, while Jenny and Anastasia exchanged glances. In truth, Jenny wasn't sure she had a dream that big. She really rather enjoyed her life the way it was now. Though... perhaps knowing anything about her past might be nice...

"What about baking, Jenny?" Tiana asked when the silence reigned too long. "You've sure got a talent for it. You could open a bake shop somewhere."

Jenny giggled at the idea and shrugged. "Maybe," she said. "I'm still trying to figure out who I am."

Tiana nodded in understanding, though Jenny wasn't sure the other girl knew much about the situation. Then again, her mother did know Minnie Mouse fairly well.

"Well if you're ever looking for something to do, I'd hire you to be in charge of desserts," Tiana said with a smile.

Jenny giggled and nodded. "I'll keep that in mind."

Tiana gave her a wink, then turned to Anastasia. "What about you?"

Anastasia's expression reminded Jenny of a startled deer (though somehow she felt like she knew that reaction very well, even if she couldn't place why) and she stammered through her answer. "Oh! Me? Well—uhh—I don't really—umm..." she took a deep breath and sighed. "I never really had dreams like your's. Mother only had us focus on marrying well."

Jenny and Tiana shared surprised looks, unconsciously deciding to take the girl under their wings.

"Well... is there anythin you especially like doing?" Tiana asked. "Anythin you do for fun? Like art or somethin?"

Anastasia rested a finger against her chin as she thought. "I play the flute," she admitted. "But I'm horrible at it."

Tiana looked at Jenny helplessly.

"If you could do anything in the world, what would it be?" Jenny asked. "What do you daydream about?"

Not even a heartbeat later, Anastasia was blushing bright enough to clash amazingly with her hair, which she tried to hide behind. But when it was obvious that at least Tiana was not willing to let the answer slide, Anastasia took a bracing breath. "Being with Marc," she said meekly. "Maybe working in the bakery—living above it too."

Jenny and Tiana blinked in surprise, but broke into bright smiles.

"That sounds like a wonderful dream," Tiana said. "And very possible!"

"No its not," Anastasia said miserably.

"Why not? I think Marc would enjoy the idea," Jenny said, glancing toward where the baker was having a jovial conversation with Dan and Roger.

Anastasia looked over at the men too, with a hopeful smile, but her smile was sad when she looked away again. "My mother will never let me marry him," she said. "She'll never give her consent to someone beneath me in social status."

Tiana and Jenny frowned as they exchanged glances. Clearly something needed to be changed. Jenny was sure her own mother would never be so shallow. The thought made her stop, almost as though she'd said it aloud.

Until now she'd never thought of her mother. She'd never had reason to. Belle and Adam hadn't been thinking about having a family yet, and were motherless themselves. Granted, Mrs. Potts had been there as a surrogate mother for all of them, but nothing had ever made her wonder about her own mother. Who she might have been, what she might have been like.

"Jenny?"

"Hmm?" Jenny blinked and returned her attention to her two companions, both of whom were staring at her curiously. "Oh, sorry," she said, blushing. "I just got lost in thought for a moment."

"About... mothers?" Tiana asked, looking slightly confused.

But Anastasia nodded, adjusting her hair as she said, "My step-sister told me about you—you don't have any memory of yours, right?"

Jenny's blush deepened, but she shook her head. "No, I don't."

"Oh," Tiana gasped. "So you weren't kidding about finding out who you are first."

The girls shared an awkward laugh, but Tiana gave her a warm smile and gripped her hand for a moment. "Let me know if you need any help."

"Thanks," Jenny said, smiling back. "But I think Anastasia's hurtle might be easier at the moment." Tiana's smile broadened in agreement and soon their conversation was centered around the budding bakery romance staring the blushing redhead sitting between them, until Anita pulled everyone's attention for a sing-a-long around Roger and the piano.

The rest of the party went by quickly and soon Jenny found herself wishing Dan a good night after he'd walked her home. But even as she set the kettle atop her little stove for a relaxing cup of tea, the sudden thoughts of her past while at the party kept coming back into her mind. She had a bad feeling about it, but while she watched the kettle boil, it was obvious what she'd have to do.

She had to figure out who she was.

_**A/N:**__ Ah the real issue. Who the heck is this amnesiac? And does she belong to Disney or to me? Lol considering most the world (let alone everything in this story) belongs to Disney, we'll say she does anyway._


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

As the weeks passed, Jenny didn't have much time to focus on her past. But she didn't mind. She happily worked her rotations throughout every location imaginable in the Magic Kingdom. From working for Scrooge McDuck, helping out every member of his staff, to Lady Tremaine and her daughters to the royal families to the Darling family itself (as Mr and Mrs Darling often had dinner parties to go to). After a month in the Magic Kingdom, Jenny was fairly sure she had met most of the citizens at least once if not twice.

By that time she was also getting a sense of who enjoyed her presence the most. The current standing was the infamous Captain Hook, Cruella De Vil, Chip and Dale, and the Tremaines—all of whom forcefully tried to get her assistance the most. Though if the children could have fought for her, the Darling children, Alice, and numerous others had sworn they would have liked to keep her as their nanny.

She was on her way home from helping the Tremaines (more specifically helping her friend Anastasia) prepare for an upcoming ball, which surprisingly got her out and on her way by four o'clock, when she decided to go home by way of Liberty Square. To her knowledge she'd never been there, but she'd heard rave reviews about the Liberty Tree Tavern and the Columbia Harbor House as well as the Sleepy Hollow Cafe. So, since she had extra time, it wasn't hard to decide to head out that way, even if it would add to her travels homeward.

Tucking her scarf into her coat, she set off down the way from the Tremaine chateau to get across Fantasyland. She hadn't gotten very far, maybe to the Seven Dwarfs' Jewelers, when an explosion of some sort disrupted the silence. All around her people gave shouts of alarm and grumbled about a nutty old inventor before resuming their activities. But Jenny couldn't help smiling. There was only one inventor she knew in the entire Empire who could make an explosion that big.

Heading off at a near run in the opposite direction than she wanted to go, Jenny followed the climbing column of smoke through fantasyland until she found herself crossing a footbridge to get to a small, strangely built cottage with its own large water wheel turning happily through a stream. Nearby, a well had a chord attached to its simple roof that connected it to one of the cottage's open second-story windows.

Jenny had never been here before, but she knew the place and just seeing it made her smile. This was the home of Maurice Bonesprit. More often than not, Belle had told stories of her childhood home on the outskirts of a little town, which apparently was not too far from where the Tremaines lived. Whenever he'd come to visit, her father would share his own stories about inventions he'd created in their basement.

As if to prove her right, a short round man with hair missing from the crown of his head emerged from the cellar doors to cough in the cold air.

"Maurice!" she called to him as she hurried closer, smiling brightly.

The old man looked up in surprise, but soon gave her a delighted smile and tried to cover up his coughs. "Miss Doe!" he rasped, clearing his throat before he pulled her into a hug. "What a pleasant surprise! What brings you out this way?"

Jenny chuckled with in his hold, then pulled away to continue taking in the sight. "I came to investigate the cloud of smoke," she said, still smiling at him. "I was on my way home from the Tremaine Chateau."

"Ah," Maurice sighed, nodding, but he gave her a quizzical look. "Isn't your new home in another direction?"

"Well, yes," she admitted. "But I was heading toward Liberty Square."

"Also in another direction," Maurice accused, but he smiled at her. "Nice place, Liberty Square. Have you ever been?"

Jenny shook her head.

"Well, what are waiting for?" he asked. "I could use some of Ms Weston's cooking myself."

"Ms Weston?" Jenny repeated, following the old man as he hurried inside the cottage for something warm to wear. The inside of the cottage was cozy and simple with a smattering of books and photographs across the walls, most of Belle as a young girl but a few were of the princess's new life.

"She's the owner and cook at the Harbor House," Maurice announced, pulling on a thick woolen cloak and hat. "Pretty close to the Fantasyland border."

"Oh."

Not too much later, Jenny found herself bouncing along on a wagon, laughing as Maurice told her stories and fought with his horse. That was one thing that Jenny had begun to miss in her days at the Magic Kingdom. Even though she was really enjoying her life there, she did miss the family atmosphere that had surrounded her in France. Granted, Adam and Belle's castle was actually only a day's ride north of Maurice's house and thus not far from Fantasyland at all, but the royal couple and their staff spent most of their time in their grand chateau in the EPCOT territories.

She couldn't really blame them, of course. After all, Adam had been shut inside his castle for ten years and Belle had too adventurous of a spirit to stay in Fantasyland forever. But the couple and their staff had become a form of family for her-Adam being the pestering big brother, Belle being a sister, Mrs Potts easily assuming the role of a loving aunt while Chip was the little brother she wondered if she had.

At least now she knew how to find Maurice, whom Belle had practically shared as a father. Not that Maurice seemed to mind, having people around to talk to seemed to be the only thing Maurice wanted now that his daughter was off and married and running a corner of the Empire.

The Harbor house was bustling and filled with merriment when Jenny and Maurice went inside. It might have been packed, but Jenny couldn't tell. With so many different sections and odd angles and a second floor, it looked amazingly roomy despite the crowd. After finding a table upstairs by a window, Maurice went off quickly to place their orders and say hello to his lady friend.

Jenny took the meantime to stare around at the eclectic decor as she shed her coat and scarf. She was just taking off her hat when she heard a familiar voice.

"Good evening, Miss doe."

She spun in her chair to see Dan standing a few feet away with his own tray of food in his hands, looking fairly windblown and a little frozen.

"Mr Bennett!" She greeted him and got to her feet as she smiled. "What are you doing here?"

He gave her a sheepish smile in return. "Currently, looking for a table. But more so, I'm here because my aunt works here."

"Oh, well, you're welcome to join us,"Jenny offered, motioning to the three remaining seats. "It might be easier than trying to find another empty spot."

Dan's smile grew, as did the color in his cheeks, but he nodded. "I believe you're right. Thank you."

Jenny felt her face burning as she sat down again. "You're welcome."

"And you're sure your companion won't mind?" he asked as he placed the tray across from her.

"Not at all," Maurice's voice answered. The young couple looked up in embarrassed surprise, but smiled at the older man holding a high piled tray and the woman at his side. "The more the merrier!" he continued, grinning. "Jenny, this is Ms. Weston. Natalie, this is my girl Jenny Doe."

"Its nice to meet you, dear," the plump woman said with a warm and friendly smile. She actually looked a good deal like Mrs. Potts, and it was obvious that Maurice was enjoying her company.

"Call me Aunt Natalie, dear," the woman said with a smile, then she did something that surprised Jenny. She rested a hand on Dan's shoulder and continued to say, "And this, Maurice, is my nephew, Daniel Bennett."

Dan was as read as a beet, but he nodded in greeting before quickly taking a sip of his drink.

"I'd have introduced you too, dear," his aunt said, turning to Jenny. "But it seems you're already aquatinted."

Jenny gave a small nod, fairly sure that her face matched the color of Dan's, as Maurice set the tray down and started doling out portions.

Aunt Natalie turned out to be great company as well as a bit of a gossip. Jenny had no doubt that Natalie Weston and Taryn O'Daily would get along very well if they ever met. An hour or so later, Jenny started feeling the effects of the day and had to excuse herself to go home.

"I'll accompany you," Dan said quickly, getting to his feet.

Aunt Natalie's eyebrows shot up, but she gave them a knowing smile and nodded. "Good," she said, getting up as well. "Its always better for a young woman not to walk alone. You take good care, dear."

Jenny barely nodded before she was pulled into a tight hug. When she was released, passed on to Maurice's gentler hug, Dan was likewise accosted.

"You be a gentleman, Daniel," Aunt Natalie warned, waggling her finger at him before breaking into a grin.

"We expect nothing, but good reports," Maurice agreed with a chuckle.

The young pair blushed deeply and headed out to the sound of Aunt Natalie filling Maurice in on a new story.

Emerging into the night air again, Jenny wrapped her coat tighter about herself and Dan pulled on his gloves as quickly as he could.

"I guess the winter's not quite done with us," Dan remarked as they started off down the lane.

"I guess not," Jenny agreed with a smile. She honestly didn't mind the colder weather, just so long as the wind wasn't stinging her eyes and nose. "I've seen worse, though," she continued. "There was one Christmas that the ice was so heavy it brought down power lines. We had to do everything by candle light. It was just a good thing we didn't have an electric stove."

Dan regarded her with surprise. He knew just as well as anyone in the empire that Jenny's memory was a fog bank, but maybe it was starting to come back. "Oh yeah?" he asked contemplatively as they crossed the street. "What year was that?"

"Umm..." She made a face. "You know? Math's not my strong suit. But I think I was eleven. And we had a whole pot of macaroni and cheese."

He nodded, still watching her as she was distracted by the quaint corner of the Magic Kingdom. After a moment or two, she stopped and turned to him with an embarrassed smile. "I'm sorry," she said. "I lost myself in thought for a second. What were we talking about?"

"You just told me about the Christmas when you were eleven," Dan said, frowning in thought and confusion. "When the power was out and you had to cook dinner in the dark."

"I did?" Jenny asked, looking surprised. But then she frowned as well, trying to think back. "Yes," she said slowly. "I'm sorry, you're right. There were alot of dogs there too."

"So you had dogs?" Dan clarified as they crossed the street.

Jenny shook her head. "No-or, well, maybe one," she said, straining to recall everything attached to the glimpse of memory. "But I think... I think I remember a cat. A little orange one."

Dan watched a smile inch onto her face and she slowly looked up at him with sparkling eyes as she continued, "He loved playing in the wrappings when I opened everything."

He couldn't help smiling back. The delight on her face was just too contagious. "So," he said as they strolled closer to her house. "You had a little orange tabby, had Christmas dinner in the dark, and spent time with a pack of dogs you didn't own."

She laughed, still radiating happiness that she'd gotten at least one memory back. "Yes, it appears so."

"Well, that doesn't narrow things down, does it?" He said with a grin.

"Not unless we want to sort through every cat and dog in the empire," she agreed.

"And there's nothing else you remember?" he asked, stopping at her stairs.

Jenny scrunched her lips to one side and stared absently at the sidewalk leading to the porch as she thought. "Only that it was really busy. People everywhere and alot of decorations."

When she looked up again, she found Dan staring at her almost analytically, which made her blush.

"What?" she asked.

"Sorry," he said sheepishly and offered a smile. "But I was just thinking. Maybe we should look toward the Studios."

"The studios?" she repeated, the fact that he'd said "we" making her blush.

"Well, yeah," he said, his own blush burning brightly as they passed a street lamp. "It's one of the busiest places I've ever heard of-lots of people. Everyone's always running late for something."

Jenny nodded as they reached the corner of her street. "Alright," she said with a shy smile. "I'm getting bid tomorrow-."

"Bid?" Dan repeated, raising an eyebrow.

She rolled her eyes, but her smile broadened. "Its what they call it when a social secretary gets a more permanent placement," she said. "But, that's tomorrow. So I suppose I won't be able to go until next Monday."

"That works for me," Dan said. Whether it really did or not, he didn't care. The idea of spending time with Jenny was enough to agree to anything. And he blushed even darker at the thought. "So, uh, how's ten o'clock?"

Jenny stepped onto the first of the stairs leading to her porch and turned back to him, realizing with a blush that this now made her almost his height. "Ten o'clock sounds perfect."

"Perfect," he repeated.

"... Well... goodnight, Mr Bennett," she said, unsure of how to end the pause.

"Right," he said, as though he was snapping out of thought, and gave a small bow. "Good night, Miss Doe."

She smiled at him again and went the rest of the way to her door. He continued to smile at her until she'd gotten inside and had turned back to glance at him again. Then he gave another small bow and started back the way he'd come as she closed herself inside the warmth of the little yellow townhouse. She hurried to her bay window and sat in the small space to watch him round the corner and disappear from sight.

Once he was gone, her heart did a back-flip.

_**A/N:**__ Aww so cute! And so much blushing! ^_^ So here's a glimpse into Maurice's life!_


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Jenny's favorite thing was just to work with different people everyday, keeping variety in her week. But permanent locations were inevitable. A strange concept, but among the other social secretaries it was jokingly the Bidding War.

She wasn't sure she liked the idea of those who came to the agency placing bids on her, but it wasn't like she could do much about it. So the morning after Dan had walked her home, she found herself waiting, half panicked, in the main office and pacing the length of the room.

Anita watched her from behind the reception desk with a bemused smile.

"Everything'll be fine," she assured her. "The Marys like you, they won't let you go to anyone horrible."

Jenny smiled at her efforts and gave a small nod, but kept pacing. She knew Anita was right and that worrying was along the lines of pointless, but it wasn't exactly easy to stop.

As she crossed to the window for the fifteenth time, the conference room door opened and the three Marys spilled into the waiting area along with another attendant Jenny remembered from several secretary functions. The brunette shook hands with each of the Marys, a brilliant smile on her face as she did so, then turned and gave Jenny an excited look as she passed by. Jenny tried to return the expression, but it felt like her stomach was twisted into knots.

"We're ready for you, Miss Doe," Mary Poppins announced with her own friendly smile.

Jenny nodded and gathered her small notebook, then followed the women into the small conference room. She'd been in there once before, a month ago when she'd first come for the job, but it was just as intimidating with the bare white walls and smokey windows that only lit the room instead of allowing a view of the little garden she knew was below. Jenny quickly seated her self to the left of the rectangle table while the Marys took up the three chairs across from her, each with their own files piled next to them.

Apparently there were quite a few who were being bid for today.

"Well it certainly sounds as though you've had a very busy few weeks with us, dear," Mrs. Banks said, smiling at her as she spread a file flat in front of her.

Jenny nodded, smiling back as she tried to quell her nerves. "I enjoyed every minute of it."

"Every minute?" Mary Poppins repeated, raising a perfectly sculpted eyebrow.

"Well, maybe not absolutely _every_ minute, but it all worked out well," Jenny said, then looked worriedly at the pristine faces. "Didn't it?"

The women chuckled amongst themselves and nodded in reassurance. "So well, in fact," Mrs. Darling announced, "that you've attracted the attention of her majesty, Cinderella."

"What?"

"Cinderella, dear," Mrs Banks repeated. "She put in the first bid for you."

"Though Cruella came in a very close second," Mrs. Darling said. "Followed, even then, by the chipmunks."

"It seems you made quite an impression on everyone, Miss Doe," Mary Poppins admitted. "Even Jane and Michael have spoken of their time visiting with you and Miss Alice."

Jenny stared back and forth between the three women. "_Queen_ Cinderella?"

Mary Banks nodded happily. "She loved how you handled working for her step-family a few weeks ago," the happy woman babbled. "And, of course, most of the people you've dealt with-well, if you can handle them, you can handle anything!"

"It seems you've made quite the impression," Mary Darling summed up with a smile. "I think only Kristen was more quickly picked. And Bridget was picked the same time as you, she'll be in here next, actually."

Jenny stared at them for a moment or two. What they were saying was very flattering, but she didn't understand why. Or who the Queen's step-family was. The three women didn't seem to notice Jenny's amazement, instead they were sifting through more papers for her to sign.

"Now, normally we would give you at least the rest of today off," Mary Darling said with an apologetic smile. "But it seems her majesty could use your help right away, Prince Dorian's birthday is on Saturday and I'm sure the whole castle is going to need whatever help it can get."

Jenny smiled back and nodded. True, a day off might have been nice, but the fact that she was working for the Magic Kingdom's highest ranked royal family was already setting her on edge. Why on earth had she been picked by Queen Cinderella?

Not very much later, Jenny found herself waiting for the trolley to take her to the castle forecourt

~~°o°~~

Jenny was nearly overwhelmed as she entered the large castle for the first time. Crossing the moat alone had been a jaw-dropping experience. She could see all around the kingdom from the drawbridge-or at least for a good distance in each direction, from Frontier and Adventureland to Tomorrowland. And the view of Main Street was breath-taking.

She'd been so busy staring around herself, that she nearly crashed into one of the royal guards.

"Careful," he cautioned, his face blank of any emotion as he caught her by the elbow.

"Oh!" she gasped and gave him a sheepish smile. "Sorry. I'm-um-I'm looking for the Queen."

He raised an eyebrow at her.

"For my job," she quickly continued. "I'm her new Social Secretary."

The guard scrutinized her for another moment or two, but eventually nodded and sent her off to find someone named Mrs. Gonviette.

As it turned out, Mrs. Gonviette was a woman in her forties who greeted Jenny with a cheerful smile that almost didn't fit with her pointy features. She introduced herself as head of the housekeeping staff and gave her a small tour of the castle as they set off to find the queen. They'd gotten through half the castle before they did.

The queen was bustling around a small kitchen on the second floor where she was happily making pies. Which Jenny found a little odd since the dining hall and ballroom and all general locations for food were on the first floor and the woman in the room was, well, queen of the Magic Kingdom. When she asked her guide about it, though, Mrs. Gonviette simply chuckled and rolled her eyes.

"Let her explain," she said and strode off down the hall, leaving Jenny standing awkwardly in the doorway.

After glancing after the housekeeper and then at the busily baking queen a few times, Jenny cleared her throat. "Um. Hello?"

The queen paused in the motion of pouring a mix of spices into a bowl of pealed and chopped apples, and looked up in surprise for a moment. Then a beautiful smile lit up her face.

"Oh right! Welcome!" Cinderella greeted. "Its good to meet, Jenny! I hope you don't mind not shaking hands-I'm afraid my hands will need a deep scrubbing before this sticky paste comes off!"

"Not at all, your majesty," Jenny said, smiling at the golden haired queen.

"Oh don't call me that," Cinderella said with a playful groan as she continued to mix the cinnamon and sugar into the chunks of apple. "It always makes me think someone's angry with me."

"What?"

"Gertrude-the Grand Duke's wife-used to be the... well... the one who took care of things around here after Charming's mother passed away," Cinderella explained, pausing briefly in her baking process to think. "Back when he was seven, I believe. Anyway, she was very nice and helpful later on, but when I first got here, the way I could tell she was angry was when she addressed me as 'your majesty'-granted she'd also have a sour look on her face. A bit like my stepmother's expression-and I take it you've worked with her and probably know it."

"Your stepmother?" Jenny repeated a little absently as she watched the queen set about, rolling dough for the pie pan nearby.

"Lady Tremaine," Cinderella clarified.

"You're Anastasia's sister?" Jenny yelped in surprise.

Cinderella looked up with a warm smile, wiping the back of her hand across her forehead-and leaving a speckled brown smear in its wake. "Step-sister, but yes," she said. "Anastasia's younger than me by about fourteen months. Poor thing, I've heard that my step-mother has been trying to keep her from seeing Marc again."

Jenny nodded and Cinderella shook her head in dismay.

"Someday Anastasia will stand up to her," Cinderella said with a sigh. "Or at least I hope she will. She speaks very highly of you and Tiana Dampier, and I have to thank you for that. A lot of people won't give her a chance at all."

"Oh." Jenny mulled it over thoughtfully, but she couldn't remember her own past, much less someone else's. "Um... Why?"

Cinderella paused in the act of padding the dough into place to blink at Jenny, then gave a friendly laugh. "I'm sorry, I forgot you don't know," she said, giving a sheepish smile before she dove back into her task. "My step family weren't exactly kind towards me after my father passed away. But that's all in the past and Anastasia's been trying really hard to make a new start."

She paused again as she turned to place the now entirely constructed pie into the oven. Then sighed in satisfaction as she closed the oven door before turning back to Jenny with a smile. "Not many give her that."

Jenny still wasn't sure that she could see why, but she nodded and gave the queen what she could of a confident smile. "She's just a little shy," she reported. "Timid. Like she doesn't know what to do around people."

"Exactly!" Cinderella agreed, grinning broadly, then she set a kettle on the stove. "You lived with Belle, so can I assume you drink tea?"

"Frequently." Jenny smiled, slightly out of amusement. Who would have thought that a queen would be so insistent on being active in the kitchen or hosting? Granted, Jenny had yet to meet a royal who wasn't down to earth in some aspect or another, but Cinderella was the first that she met who was cooking for charity bazzarre on her own and boiling her own water for tea to serve a social secretary.

The cheerful blond was barely an inch or so shorter than Jenny with a continuous smile who hummed while she worked. Apparently Cinderella had remodeled this section of the castle and had the builders put in this private kitchen after she and her husband got married. "It's a way for him to taste normal life," she said as they sipped their tea. "And for me, too. I like being able to do things on my own. I guess I just worry I'll become too reliant. Then what will happen if there's a point where I need to do things on my own again? I'd be helpless!"

Jenny had nodded in agreement, fully understanding her believe, since it was the same as Belle's and even Aurora's. And that knowledge alone was enough to assure her she was going to really enjoy her time at the castle.

"Now," Cinderella said once they'd finished their cups and the pie had come out of the oven. "Let's see what we can do about Dorian's party."

_**A/N:**__ Ladies and Gents, I give you Cinderella. ^_^ She really is quite charming, you know. And I speak from experience _


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Of all the environments that Jenny'd had to work quickly to know how things were done, the castle was definitely the fastest she'd ever needed to fall in-step. Luckily she was what the Marys called a "quick study" and she did better than flounder through her first week. Perhaps it was because the prince's eighth birthday was coming, making everything slightly chaotic for everyone, that made her presence fit in perfectly. Or perhaps it was simply because they needed someone with a fresh approach to things and a helping hand. Whatever the reason, Jenny found herself happily mixed into the middle of the royal hub-ub as Queen Cinderella's personal assistant, among other things.

And when Prince Dorian's birthday finally arrived, Jenny spent the morning baking several dozen cookies for the afternoon in the royal family's private kitchen while the Queen and King received guests who were staying for the weekend. And that was fine by her, baking was relaxing.

She'd just gotten the first tray of chocolate chip cookies into the oven when she heard running footsteps and then saw a small blonde boy come into the room only to dart behind one of the large barrels of flour. Jenny frowned as she tried to get a better look at the child, but before she could do more than see him motion for her not to say anything-a harried and harassed looking old governess filled the doorway with her grey hair frizzed out in all directions.

"Have you seen Prince Dorian run through?" she asked.

Jenny's eyes fell on the young boy, but turned it into a glance around the room. Then she shook her head. "Not to my knowledge."

The royal governess huffed angrily and continued on her way, leaving the boy to giggle quietly from his hiding place. Jenny smiled and put down the mixing spoon to put her hands on her hips.

"Is that who you are, then?" she asked.

The boy sobered instantly. "You won't tell, will you?"

"How can I tell what I do not know?" Jenny asked with a coy smile. "All I currently know is that a young boy has come running into the kitchen without shoes or cumberbun. So how about you wash your hands and help me make these cookies and I won't turn you in."

A large grin spread across his eight year old face and he gave her an enthusiastic nod before racing off to the sink. Soon the boy was elbow deep in cookie dough and having a fantastic time.

"Now, how old are you, your highness?" Jenny asked as she let him eat what batter was left on the beaters.

"Eight," he reported, happily nibbling away at the cookie dough. "I turned eight at ten-twenty this morning!"

"I heard," Jenny said with a smile. "Happy Birthday."

"Thank you," Dorian said with a little bow before returning his focus to the cookie dough.

"And what are you hoping for on your birthday?" Jenny asked, switching the cookie trays around.

The little boy's eyes lit up and he smiled behind the beater in his hand. "I want a super bouncy ball!"

"What?" Jenny asked, trying not laugh in surprise. "A bouncy ball?"

"A _super_ bouncy ball," Dorian corrected proudly.

"Right, sorry," she said with a smirk. "And why do you want that?"

A mischievous grin came to the boy's face. "So I can bounce it from the balconies."

_Oh boy_. Jenny shook her head and laughed. "Well, that should be interesting."

"I wanna bounce it down all the way from Fairy Tower!" he announced, highly enthused by Jenny's reaction.

"Fairy tower?" Jenny asked, pausing to look at him curiously as she gathered ingredients for the next batch of cookies.

"The tallest one," Dorian said, pointing upward as though he could point out the structure he was talking about through the walls. "That's where the fairies conduct fireworks from."

"Oh."

"Do you think it'll bounce all the way back up?" Dorian asked with wide eyes.

Jenny chuckled. "I don't know. I don't think I've ever experimented with that," she said. "Is that all you want for your birthday?"

The prince paused and looked to the ceiling as he thought. "Um..."

She gave him with a bemused smile as she began mixing the batter for sugar cookies together. The fact that the prince took so long to think of a present other than a bouncy ball to see if it could leap the castle in one bounce was a credit to his parents, they'd somehow managed to get a fairly down-to-earth son even though he would probably have the most power in the empire when he grew up.

As they worked through the next few hours, making each kind of cookie, Jenny found herself falling back into the roll of nanny very easily and making sure the prince was staying clean within a large chef's jacket and learning something as they went. Such as how many teaspoons make a tablespoon and how many ounces in a cup, not to mention how to tell if a cookie's ready to come out of the oven and where to let the tray cool.

The young prince was enthralled, soaking up all information like a sponge despite his declared dislike of schoolwork. By the time Cinderella found them an hour before the party was due to start, the pair were thick as thieves and excitedly talking about how to divide something into pieces.

Shock was completely unhidden on the queen's face as she observed them breaking a cookie into quarters and her son triumphantly announcing that taking two away would leave you with half a cookie.

Jenny bobbed in a quick curtsey when she noticed the queen and smiled beneath the flower on her face. "Hello, your majesty."

"Hello," Cinderella responded, completely forgetting her dislike of the title in her shock. "What's all this?"

"We're making cookies!" Dorian shouted happily, throwing his arms upward and making flour rain around the room. Jenny chuckled and and quickly set him on the floor, then she removed the chef's ensemble as he talked. "Did you know that if you poke a cookie and it collapses inward then it's not ready yet? And a teaspoon is smaller than half a tablespoon? And it's okay to use a smaller spoon like the one over four spoon if you need a scoop of something because you just need to scoop it four times to make the same size?"

A slow delighted smile came to the queen's face and she gave Jenny an appreciative glance as her son was revealed to be entirely clean-other than his face and hands-and practically ready to go.

"It sounds like you've had a wonderful afternoon with Miss Jenny," she said.

Dorian nodded happily.

"But you shouldn't give Ms Teesen such a difficult time," she continued. "You're supposed to wear the entire outfit."

The prince made a sour face, but grumbled something along the lines of consent.

Sensing the fact that the young boy would soon touch his clean clothes with his sticky dough covered hands in protest, Jenny cheerfully chimed in. "Well, there's still time," she said giving Dorian a smile when he looked at her. "But we're not done with the cookie process yet."

"We're not?" he asked.

Jenny shook her head with a smile, though she did catch the queen's slight frown. "Nope, there's one step left," she said, leaning close to his level as though they were sharing a secret. "We need to hide any evidence that we were the ones who were baking!"

"Why?" Dorian asked frowning, though his mother's expression changed as she caught on.

"Because what if someone at the party really likes the cookies?" she asked, trying to throw an excuse together. "They might want you to just make cookies forever!"

"So?" he asked and gave her a defiant smile. "I'll just make cookies and never have to go to tutors or wear fancy clothes again!"

"True," Cinderella conceded, stepping in to help Jenny. "But what if they want to know who taught you how to make cookies? And then they decide that they want Miss Jenny to make cookies with them instead? Then you wouldn't get any more baking days."

Dorian's eyes widened at the prospect and he quickly raced toward the sink, shouting over his shoulder, "C'mon, Miss Jenny! We have to hide everything!"

Jenny and Cinderella exchanged triumphant smiles.

"We'll be down in fifteen minutes," Jenny promised.

Cinderella chuckled, shaking her head. "Alright, but don't be late!"

"We won't!" Dorian shouted from where he was rubbing a damp washcloth over his arms. Jenny gave the queen a nod and turned to help the boy at the sink.

_**A/N:**__ And suddenly my years of babysitting actually serve a purpose! Lol Prince Dorian, such a doll ^_^_


	9. Chapter 9

"Jenny!"

The shout had come only seconds before she was nearly tackled and enveloped in cascading soft hair the color of sunshine. "So this is where you'd run off to!"

"Your majesty," Jenny returned and glanced down through the hug that was nearly choking her to see a pink gown. Behind the woman were two small children—aged two and five—being held onto by the smirking King Philip. The two children smiled up at Jenny with angelic faces that were almost too beautiful to be human. She patted her assailant on the back and was soon released.

Queen Aurora pulled back, shaking her head even though she was smiling. "You still haven't abandoned titles?" she asked, looping her arm through the social secretary's. "I'd have thought Cinderella would have hammered it out of you by now."

"It's only been a week," Jenny defended.

"And believe me," Cinderella said as she joined them. "I've been trying."

Aurora smiled brightly and gave Cinderella a hug, then turned to take her son from her husband. "Why didn't you tell me you were leaving Belle's company?" she asked Jenny as Philip walked their daughter over to the birthday boy. "I'd have hired you before you even went home for the day."

"Now, wait a minute, Aurora," Cinderella said firmly, though she couldn't hide her teasing smile. "You've already laid claim to my son, you aren't allowed to have my secretary!"

"Why not?" Aurora asked light-heartedly, glancing toward where her daughter was greeting the birthday-boy. "At least he'll feel at home!"

"I've told you-and so have Charming and Mickey-they're not living in the EPCOT," Cinderella said with a sigh, as though this argument had been going on long before Jenny had gotten dragged into it.

"I know," Aurora said, with a hint of a whine in her voice and gave a small pout before turning it into a cheeky smile. "Doesn't mean they can't have a summer place there!"

"Aurora," Cinderella groaned.

By this point the two women had let go of Jenny's arms and she happily slipped away, not ready to see a royal disagreement-even if it was in fun. Not far away she spotted Belle having a lively conversation with another queen and a young woman with short black hair. She smirked. If Belle was here already, then that meant.

"Got ya!"

The quiet growl came milliseconds before his hands did and Jenny had no defense from being poked in the sides. She squeaked in alarm and jumped away only to turn and bat at him with her own hands. "Beast!"

King Adam laughed hand held up his hands, a form of promise that he wouldn't do it again, but that was very easily broken with him. "I've said it before and I'll say it again," he announced and draped an arm over her shoulders. "Belle's new secretary is not nearly as much fun to torment."

Jenny wrinkled her nose at him, but smiled at his back-handed compliment as the young king steered her towards his wife. "Well perhaps you should find something else to do," she offered. "Besides tormenting people, I mean."

He chuckled, the deep rumble drawing the attention of the brunette queen who looked up and smirked at them. "Besides that?" he asked. "But were would the fun be? I already have to come all the way out here to bother you."

"Yes, I see it's such an inconvenience," Jenny said, rolling her eyes.

"Its nice to see you two thick as thieves again," Belle said with a laugh, then gave Jenny a hug. "I really do miss how you could turn an argument, Jen. Adam just doesn't know when to quit."

"I do!" Adam said defensively, only to get both women's incredulous stares. Feigning offense, the young king strode off announcing that he was going to visit with Aladdin, which sent them into giggles.

"Adam doesn't seem to enjoy the new secretary," Jenny said.

"No," Belle said rolling her eyes. "But then it's hard to replace someone who's practically family. Speaking of which, Papa said he saw you not too long ago. He's really decided you're his daughter."

Jenny laughed and Belle joined in before turning her towards the two women who'd been waiting quietly to regain Belle in their conversations.

"Ladies," Belle said with a smile. "This is Jenny Doe, my sister. Jenny, this is Snow White and Mulan."

"Nice to meet you," the shorter queen twittered in a soprano voice.

"Like wise," the young Asian woman agreed with a nod and a smile.

"The honor is mine," Jenny said, nodding her head as Mulan had.

"By the company you keep, I would say it's ours," Mulan said, her eyes glancing lower at Jenny's side.

Jenny looked down curiously to find Prince Dorian waiting as patiently as he could for the adults to stop talking.

"Why hello, little prince," Snow White greeted him with an affectionate light pinch on the cheek. "Happy Birthday!"

"Thank you, Queen Snow White," Dorian responded, sounding like he was reciting directions.

"Did you need something, your highness?" Jenny asked, leaning over a little to talk to him.

Instantly his face brightened with a real smile and he took up her hand. "Can you show which cookies are mine?" he asked. "Rashid and Aria don't believe I made them."

"Excuse me," Jenny said, turning to give the other women a smile. "Apparently I'm off to sort cookies."

"We'll rescue you at dinner, Jen," Belle assured her as Mulan and Snow White chuckled and Jenny was led away.

It didn't take long to prove that the young prince wasn't lying about cookies once Jenny got involved. The Arab prince and the Danish princess were completely awed by the fact that a royal could learn to bake without much of any help. Aurora's daughter, Odette, (whom Jenny had strangely never met before) took an instant liking to her and the idea of cookies. And soon, as Cinderella had jokingly predicted, all of the children wanted to be involved in a baking class with Jenny.

By dinner time, Jenny was only too happy to be rescued by King Charming joining them to announce it was time to eat. The king had to rescue her again almost instantly as the children demanded she sit with them.

"Miss Jenny's got a seat already," he informed them, fighting back laughter. "How about next time we make sure she's at your table, fair?"

There was a good deal of grumbling, but soon the children agreed and raced off to find their seats. Jenny and Charming smiled after them.

"Well, now," Charming said, gesturing that they might want to start heading towards the dining hall. "Shall I escort you to the table, Miss Jenny?"

"Thank you," Jenny said, feeling her face redden. "But shouldn't you be escorting your wife? Or one of the other queens?"

Charming glanced across the ballroom at the large archways that led to the long white tables where most of the other guests were already gathering. "I wouldn't say that Dorian's birthday is so formal an event," he said with a smile. "Plus I believe Cinderella went in with Ariel, Aurora, and Belle."

Jenny nodded, falling in step with the king and very gingerly taking the arm he offered her.

"Besides, I want to thank you," he confided.

"Me?" Jenny asked, her eyebrows shooting up her forehead. Having barely seen the king in the past week working at the castle, she had absolutely no idea what he could possibly be thanking her for.

"Yes," he said with a chuckle. "You've been a great help from what I've heard, and Dorian was reciting arithmetic at me-which is a miracle no matter how you look at it."

Jenny couldn't help chuckling at that. "Not many children like math," she conceded, which made him laugh in agreement. "I was never good at doing problems on paper, but I used to pretend that I was baking with my Aunt in order to figure things out."

"Really?" Charming asked, looking impressed. "It was always a torture forced on me. I always wanted to be outside-riding or playing or fencing. Desk work was never in my favor, I suppose Dorian gets that from me."

"I don't know," Jenny said with a smile, really liking her new boss's husband. "Queen Cinderella is very similar-sitting still does not look like an option for her."

At that the king did laugh and the wonderful sound filled the entire ballroom, drawing a few glances from the last of the party-goers and their attention making Jenny blush. "That's very true," Charming agreed and grinned as they started through the archways. "And that's one of the many reasons why I love her."

The thought made Jenny smile and she looked up to find him staring amorously at his wife, who seemed to feel his gaze and smiled back at him.

"Well," he said after a moment, giving Jenny a cheery smile. "How about we find where my wife placed you?"

"I could always sit with the children, of course," Jenny said, smiling at giving a small wave to the waving little royals as they passed.

"Oh, no you couldn't," Charming said with a soft chuckle. "My wife has a specific seat in mind for you."

"Really?" Jenny asked warily.

Charming simply smiled and led her around the room to the far side of the adult table. There he pulled out a chair for her and Jenny tried not to be awkward as she moved to stand in front of it while under the gazes of several courtiers who'd been unabashedly shocked that the king was escorting a secretary.

"Enjoy, Miss Doe," King Charming said, and kissed her hand. "We look forward to hearing your thoughts."

The twinkle in his eye instantly made Jenny smirk and nearly roll her eyes. Apparently he'd made a bigger show of things than he had to-and probably just to annoy the courtiers! With a delighted inward groan she realized that Charming had a lot more in common with King Adam than he'd let on. Knowing she realized this, the King and Queen gave her smiles that almost made her feel like she was in on their secret before they turned their attention to toasting.

"Friends! Family! Honored guests. We are here to celebrate eight years of the best thing that ever happened to my wife and I," Charming started, then turned toward the kids table, as did all of the adults. "Prince Dorian Christopher Rupert the First. Strategist. Horseman. Mathematician. Friend to all, and now apparently baker of fine cookies-."

The king had to pause as the children's table erupted with cheers and Dorian took a bow, which of course had drawn chuckles from the adults.

Charming couldn't look prouder as he raised his glass and the room followed suit. "Know that you are loved by many, but none more than your mother and I. Happy Birthday, son."

"Happy Birthday!" was cheered around the room, with glasses being raised a hair higher and then sipped.

"Thank you!" Dorian shouted, his own glass now in the air as the rest of the room drank.

Jenny nearly laughed as the prince's eyes connected with hers for a split second and she nodded to him with a large smile. Then someone bumped her arm with theirs.

"Oh geeze! I'm sor-."

"I'm sorry," the man quickly cut her off. "I didn't-."

She looked up with wide eyes. "Mr. Bennett!"

Dan gave her a sheepish smile. "Good evening, Miss Doe."

"What on earth are you doing here?" she asked in delight. "I mean, I hadn't expected to see anyone I knew other than a few of the royals."

He smiled in understanding, then quickly moved behind her chair as she sat down and pushed her towards the table. "I'm surprised myself," he admitted when he sat in his own seat. "Marc is usually invited because of his relationship with Anastasia, but when they couldn't come, the Queen said I should join."

Jenny couldn't stop smiling, which may have looked a little ridiculous. "I'm very glad you did."

"I am too," he agreed, his smile growing broader.

Down the table, where Cinderella and Charming where happily talking with each other, the Queen was shaken out of her conversation, literally, by Queen Aurora reaching across her husband.

"Cindy! Cindy!" Aurora hissed in a conspiratorial whisper.

Charming pressed himself back against his chair with a sigh. This was what he'd always hated about the traditions of dinners and long tables, being seated male then female in a repetitive order always caused issues in conversation. Cinderella gave him an understanding smirk.

"What is it?" she asked back, leaning around her husband.

"Did you see?!" Aurora asked, looking far too delighted for Cinderella's comfort. At her friend's blank response, though, Aurora sighed and eagerly said, "Jenny!"

"What about her?" Cinderella asked. She and Charming looked at each other, then down the table, concerned that something bad had happened. But it was quite the contrary as they saw the social secretary having a great conversation with the young man next to her.

A moment or two passed watching them before a gleam came to the Queen's eye. The same thought made the King groan. "No," he said, holding his hand up between the two queens' faces. "No, I forbid it. You two are not playing matchmaker again."

"Oh Charming!" Aurora huffed. "You're no fun!"

"Your husband agrees with me," Charming pointed out.

"Hey, wait a minute," Philip piped up from Aurora's other side. "I don't want to be involved-especially when I don't know what's going on."

"We're not going to play matchmakers," Cinderella said calmly, sounding very diplomatic as she turned her attention to the soup in front of her. "We're simply going to gather information. If something should happen in the meantime-."

"Cinderella," Charming said, his voice gaining a note of warning.

"-then it will have nothing to do with our matchmaking abilities," she finished, giving him a cheeky smile.

A snorted laugh from Cinderella's other side, drew their attention to King Adam, who didn't even bother pretending he'd choked on his soup. He padded his mouth with the napkin before he replaced it on his lap, then he turned to them with a grin. "You're in for quite the difficult time, majesties," he said. "I know for a fact that the Miss Doe in question is very opposed to romantic relationships."

"That's just because she hadn't found the right person yet," Aurora reasoned.

"How do you know?" Cinderella asked him.

"We got wind that a waiter at Le Bistro de Paris was sweet on her," Adam informed them. "But as soon as Jenny got even the slightest feeling of that, she did nearly everything she could to avoid him."

Cinderella and Aurora looked shocked at this news, but Charming shook his head. "Adam, you're as bad as the ladies."

"Belle's father would have adopted her if she weren't already in her early twenties," Adam said with a shrug. "We've already decided she's in our family, so I can be as nosey as I like."

The queens smirked and Charming groaned. "Alright," he said finally. "I give up. But no going over the top-and no involving me!"

"And don't be obvious or she'll run for the hills," Adam put in.

"Fine," Cinderella said confidently, then turned to Aurora. "What would you say to all of us having a morning tea tomorrow before you head home?"

"I think it's a lovely idea," Aurora said with a cunning smile. "Around eleven?"

"Perfect."

**A/N:** Oh the joy of conspiring nations... lol Not much is mine, though really you should know that by now


	10. Chapter 10

After the last part of their meal had been served, Dorian happily led the way back into the ballroom-making a straight line for the heavily-laden table of presents. Jenny and Dan watched from along the edge of the ring of guests as the young prince made quick work of the wrapping paper.

"Jenny," Cinderella greeted softly as she joined them, smiling brightly at them. "And Mr. Bennett, its nice to see you."

"The honor is mine, your majesty," Dan responded, giving a small bow.

Cinderella sighed and shook her head at the title, but continued to smile at them, her eyes twinkling. "I didn't know you two knew each other."

"Oh, uh, yes, Miss Doe lives near the bakery," Dan said quickly.

"And Mr Bennett works there some mornings," Jenny added, feeling her cheeks burn. "Which is when I stop by for tea before coming here."

"I see," Cinderella said and Jenny felt her stomach knot up at the calculating gleam that entered the queen's bright blue eyes. "I'm sorry for the seating arrangements," she continued. "If Anastasia had been able to make it, I would have sat her there."

"Why?" Jenny asked, exchanging a curious look with Dan.

"Because Anastasia knows how to handle certain personalities," Cinderella said. "And not many can handle the likes of Bar-Rodmilla!"

At the queen's surprise, Jenny and Dan looked to the woman who'd just joined them and recognized her instantly from dinner. She was relatively tall, around Jenny's height maybe, and had her sleek black hair pulled back into a snood that matched her overly lavish gown. She hadn't noticed before, but suddenly Jenny felt very out of place in her work uniform-even if the skirt and blouse and vest ensemble were in perfectly good condition.

"Miss Doe, Mr Bennett," Cinderella said, hastily attempting to recover her proper composure as she smiled. "This is the Baroness Rodmilla DeGent-I believe you may have met at dinner."

"I believe we did," Jenny said, giving the stately woman a smile. "How did you find the tiramisu, Baroness?"

The Baroness looked Jenny over with a critical eye and slowly lifted her chin ever so slightly to look down her nose at the young woman briefly before answering. "It was delightful," she said, then turned to Cinderella with an overly "gracious" smile. "Of course, I would assume nothing less would be fit for such an impressive household."

Cinderella smiled back with a small nod of her head. "Thank you, Baroness," she said and Jenny noticed the queen's cheerful voice was as practiced as Dorian's had been earlier. "I'll be sure to pass along your compliments. And how is the Baron?"

Rodmilla DeGent continued to smile, though this time it showed more warmth as she thought about her husband. "He is well," she said, then quickly added. "Though unfortunately not well enough to join us tonight, I'm sorry to say."

"Indeed," Cinderella said.

"He sends his best wishes, of course," DeGent continued. "He's the one who picked out the prince's present-fine golden riding spurs."

"Oh," Cinderella said, still smiling but Jenny could definitely detect that the queen was putting a great deal of effort to hold her expression. "What a generous thought."

"Yes," DeGent agreed, clearly thinking it was the best idea ever. "We knew that the young prince is quite a fan of horses and I believe the Baron had seen a recent horse show that he'd been in and noticed that the poor dear didn't have spurs. What better gift for a rider?"

"I'm sure I could not think of a better answer," Cinderella complimented. "Though, if you're not careful, you might make Prince Rashid jealous of them."

DeGent's eyebrows rose in surprise. "The Prince of Agrabah rides?"

"Last I knew," Cinderella said with a nod, then motioned towards the teal-clad Sultana who was in deep conversation with Megara. "There's the Sultana now. Jasmine would know better than I. And his birthday is barely two months away, perhaps you should consult her on it."

The idea sparked and quickly consumed the Baroness's attention. "An excellent idea, your majesty," DeGent said and bobbed a small curtsy. "If you'll excuse me, I'll do just that."

"Oh, by all means," Cinderella said with an eager tone. "And take your time."

Baroness DeGent may not have heard the last statement, but as quickly as Cinderella's smile faded it was unlikely that the Queen cared. She gave Jenny and Dan a pleading smile. "Really, truly, I am so sorry you had to eat with her."

Jenny laughed a little and smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry," she said. "She really didn't talk to us much."

Cinderella didn't even hold back the snort of understanding. "Consider yourselves lucky," she said, glancing back towards where the Baroness was trying to gain the attention of Sultana Jasmine, whom was easily ignoring each attempt. "Of all the time I've been here-Rodmilla DeGent is the most conniving, self-flattering, latter climbing woman I've ever met. And, considering who I'm related to, that's saying something."

Jenny pressed her lips, raising an eyebrow as she glanced at Dan. Both of them were at a loss of how to respond. But it didn't seem like too much of an issue as the queen took a deep breath, then smiled up at them again. "So," she said cheerfully. "Are you two having fun?"

"Oh, yes, thank you," they chorused.

Cinderella gave them another mischievous smile, then went to join her husband. Jenny and Dan stared after her for another moment or two, then looked at each other.

"Do you have the feeling that we're missing something?" Dan asked.

Jenny gave a slow nod, but broke into a confused smile. He readily returned it and they looked towards the young prince again. Watching Dorian open yet another colorful package, Jenny sighed at the dismay in the young boy's eyes.

"Looks as though alot of the gifts are falling short of his highness's expectations," she said softly.

Dan nodded. "I hope what I brought is not as painful as these seem to be."

"Judging by these, I'm sure it will be," Jenny said, holding back a grimace as Dorian forced himself to thanks one of the guests for their gift of three new vests. "What did you get him, anyway?"

He nodded toward the prince as the boy pulled a smaller green present from the dwindling pile, then gave her a sly smile. "Watch."

Jenny looked at him curiously for a moment, before turning her gaze back to the prince. Dorian was regarding the present with just as much curiosity, glancing towards Dan once or twice as he read the inscription and started to gently tear the paper. Merely opening one corner of the box was enough to bring delight to his face and the paper was tossed aside with abandon.

The young prince held up a carved wooden train engine, his face aglow with awe. He stared at it for a moment or two, turning it every which way to examine it, then he leapt to his feet and ran to Dan with a large smile on his face.

"Do you like your gift, your highness?" Dan asked. "I heard you enjoy model trains."

"Yes," Dorian said, nodding fervently. "How'd you know?"

"Well, I know an aunt of yours," Dan said, leaning down on his knees so he was at eye-level with the prince. "She said you like trains."

Dorian's smile grew even bigger and he gave Dan a quick, tight hug. "Thank you, Mr. Bennett. And thank Auntie Anastasia too!"

Then the prince went bounding back to show his friends what he'd gotten. Jenny nearly laughed at the surprise on Dan's face, which quickly mingled with mild embarrassment for being a commoner hugged by the child. Hoping to spare him the several distasteful looks she knew were headed his way from several courtiers, Jenny quickly linked her arm with his and discretely led the way towards the large windows on the other side of the ballroom. She hadn't had time to put her own gift on the table, which she'd managed to get thanks to half an hour of free time around lunch and a run to the Emporium, but that could wait since she'd be seeing more of the prince than anyone else in the room.

Once they reached the large glass doors, closing off the ballroom from the cold February air, Jenny let go and stared out at the snow-covered garden. Dan took a deep breath and she could see a relieved smile in his reflection. "So," he said slowly. "I guess we weren't the only ones who noticed the prince's lack of enthusiasm in the other gifts."

"I guess not," Jenny agreed, fighting down giggles as she glanced back. Only one or two people continued to glance their way, but not for more than a second or two. "But, there's no damage done."

If nothing else, what little she knew of Dorian's parents was enough to tell her that the King and Queen were more than "okay" with his show of affection. And at least the boy had gotten something he actually liked from the celebration.

When Jenny looked back, Dan was looking back towards the partiers, too, with a small smile as the crowd dispersed after the young prince gave a loud shout of "Thanks everybody!"

Then he looked down at Jenny and his smile grew. "What?"

"If Anastasia and Marc ever get married," she said. "I think you'll make a very good uncle."

At this, Dan laughed. "Well I hope that also means that if I ever get married, I'll make a good father."

"That too, I'm sure," Jenny said, laughing as well.

As their chuckles slowed, the twelve-piece orchestra (a part of the widely acclaimed Philharmagic) started up a waltz, pulling many of the palace guests onto the dance floor. Even Prince Dorian was dragged to the center of the ballroom by the insistent little brunette he was betrothed to.

"Well," Dan said, drawing her attention back to him to find his hand being held out towards her. "Shall we dance?"

Jenny lightly bit her lip, but she couldn't help smiling. "I'm probably not any good."

"That's alright," he said with a confidential smile. "I'm probably not any good either."

She gave a quiet laugh and held her hand forward. "Alright, let's see how poorly we dance together."

He grinned as he took her hand and led her out onto the open floor. "You never know," he said, twirling her into his arms. "As long as we're dancing at the same level, we could end up being pretty good."

Jenny gave him an incredulous look, which he continued to grin at and made her laugh. Then, on the count of three, they joined in the waltz.

**A/N:** Just a little extra about the party ^_^ Can anyone guess who Baroness Rodmilla DeGent is? *my geekiness is showing*


	11. Chapter 11

Somehow Jenny managed to wake herself up for work the next morning with enough time to stop for a hot chocolate with Dan. He looked incredibly tired, but they both talked even more than they usually did-recounting the previous evening. Everything-from the delicious cake (which came after the four-course meal and Jenny had barely been able to eat more than two bites of) to Dorian's delight over several new toys and games to the dancing-had been playing itself over and over again in Jenny's mind ever since Dan had walked her home after a late display of fireworks.

"I don't know if I've ever been much of a dancer," Jenny said with a laugh as Dan reminded her of the Baroness DeGent's attitude towards dancing.

"You must have been," Dan declared, wiping down the counter to make it shine.

Jenny laughed again and shook her head. "But," she said, still grinning broadly, "if it had been possible, I could have danced all night."

Dan chuckled, nodding in agreement. He'd just started to respond, when the main door opened and a voice called out to them.

"Jenny! Don't you have to get up to the castle?"

The social secretary's eyes darted to the decorative clock on the wall and she leapt off her stool, pulling on her coat again as she went. "Thank you, Anastasia!" she said as she passed her friend, then she turned back to smile at Dan as she ducked out onto the street.

"I felt that way too," he whispered after her as the last wisp of her strawberry curls left the window.

Anastasia looked from the door to Dan and back again as she took off her own deep burgundy coat. Then she managed a small smile as she stepped closer to the counter. "I take it you enjoyed my nephew's party?"

Dan smiled back as Marc joined them. The head baker grinned knowingly as he exchanged glances with his girlfriend. But Dan's eyes had gone back to the bakery windows, though there were very few people milling on the sidewalk.

"Yes," he said. "Very much."

~~°o°~~

In her haste, Jenny bumped into three guards, startled a scullery maid, and nearly tripped over Pom-pom (the castle's cat, though Jenny really had no idea why the cat was there since Cinderella and Charming were definitely more fond of dogs). Luckily, when she reached the Queen's chamber, Cinderella had barely done anything to start her day and didn't mind that Jenny was one and a half minutes late.

"Really," she said with a laugh. "You worry too much, Jenny. Normally on the day after a birthday, we all just take our time with the day-stay in our night clothes and have a late breakfast and such. All I have to do today is have tea with a few friends."

In fact, the queen was still in her nightgown, seated at a small tea table by the window. Jenny was just about to object again when a soft knock came from the door.

"Come in," Cinderella answered quickly, giving Jenny a victorious grin.

"Majesty," said one of the footmen (a short man with a beak-like nose whom had been introduced to Jenny as Ralph). "The Lady Megara and Sultana Jasmine await you in the east parlor."

"Already?" Cinderella asked, then glanced around for the clock.

"Its quarter to eleven," Jenny offered, looking to her wristwatch.

Cinderella's eyebrows shot up and she pulled Jenny's wrist to look at the time as well. Then frowned thoughtfully. "They're early," she said and rolled her eyes before looking back to Ralph. "Alright, let them know we'll be joining them shortly."

Ralph bowed out as Cinderella sighed, her hands on her hips. "Alright," she said, turning to Jenny with a smile. "I suppose now we can rush."

Jenny smiled back, even chuckling slightly, as she nodded. Then the two women set about putting an outfit together.

~~°o°~~

When Jenny and Cinderella made it down to the east parlor, a large room with pastel green walls and light yellow furniture, about ten minutes later. It was easily one of Jenny's favorite rooms, especially while the sun lit it up through the large windows. She just loved the peaceful feeling it gave. The current atmosphere, however, was an entirely different energy as they found a nearly military conflict type of tension hanging over the two women seated at the small card table.

Cinderella smirked and let Jenny out of what she called "peace negotiations" by sending the young secretary over to Dorian's abandoned art supplies in the nearby sitting area. Jenny was a little hesitant, but very thankful that she was allowed to disconnect herself. Soon enough she was sketching pictures with colored pencils and crayons as though she was an eight year old herself, and having a marvelous time of it.

She'd just gotten up to get more paper from a cabinet near the door when Aurora arrived, with her children in tow. Only moments after Cinderella had managed to quell the hostile tempers of her guests.

"Jenny!" the blonde queen cried out happily and gave her a quick, tight hug. "Did you have fun last night? Wasn't the dancing wonderful? You know, King Adam has such an attachment to you!"

"Yes, your majesty," Jenny said, smiling brightly. "I did, it was, and he was always a fan of finding ways to disrupt the day."

Aurora chuckled. "I can imagine," she said with a grin, then turned her attention as Cinderella joined them. "Are we the first ones?"

"No, Hercules dropped Meg off about fifteen minutes ago so he could go help train the new troops," Cinderella said, nodding back toward the table. "And Jasmine visited Adventureland with Aladdin and Rashid this morning, so she arrived about five minutes ago."

"Oh is Prince Rashid with her?" Aurora asked glancing around as though afraid she'd missed him somewhere in the architecture.

"No, it seems the little prince is starting to learn about the business of his kingdom," Cinderella said with a smile as she lead them to the table.

"He's following Aladdin's every move today," Jasmine agreed, greeting them with a smile. "The twins have their lessons, and Hasan is still too young to sit still for the carpet ride. He'd probably try to crawl right over the edge."

"Takes after Aladdin then," Meg remarked, smirking as she pushed the cards to the center of the table. "So now that's four, are we going to play bridge?"

"Oh, but I'm terrible at Bridge," Aurora said. "Couldn't we play gin-rummy?"

"Not that one again," Jasmine groaned.

"Well noone said you _had_ to play, Aurora," Meg pointed out.

"But that would make us one less," Jasmine pointed out, already shuffling the cards.

"What about you, Jenny?" Aurora asked, turning to her with a large persuasive smile. "You could sit in until one of the other girls show, couldn't you?"

"Me?" Jenny asked, her eyes going wide. She gave an apologetic smile. "I don't know how to play cards—I barely knew how to play Go Fish with the Darling children."

"It isn't too hard," Cinderella assured her.

Jenny had just begun to shake her head "no, thank you" when the Ralph entered.

"The Queen Snow White," he announced.

In stepped the petite young woman, smiling broadly at them.

"Well you look cheery today," Meg commented with a smirk. "What's the occasion? Finally got over your fear of apples?"

"Its not a fear—it's a wariness," Snow White said, rolling her eyes, but continuing her smile. "But the children are spending the day with Ferdinand—"

"Praise Zeus!" Meg declared, her hands in the air.

"That in itself is enough to celebrate," Jasmine commented. "Not that your quints aren't dolls, Snow, but they must be a handful."

"At times," Snow White agreed, "which is why these days to ourselves are such a delight."

"Join us at the table then," Meg said, motioning toward one of the two still vacant chairs. "We're about to start a hand of Bridge."

"I'd be glad to," Snow White said, giving Jenny a smile of greeting before sitting down to Meg's left.

"Fa, Mulan," Ralph announced from the doorway as a beautiful young Asian woman entered.

"Hello!" Mulan said happily. "Am I late?"

"Just in time, actually," Cinderella said with a smile. "You play the first hand, Aurora and I have something we need to talk over."

Mulan nodded and took her place between Snow White and Jasmine. Aurora gave Cinderella a curious look, but handed her son off to Jenny and followed the princess to the cushioned seats by the windows.

Jenny smiled at Prince Stephan and then down at Princess Odette. "How about we do something fun?"

Aurora's children smiled back, nodding eagerly as they joined Jenny to where she had been sketching earlier. Jenny passed them sheets of paper and large crayons that were shaped like Mr. Mouse and his friends, which little Stephan enjoyed greatly.

The following hour passed quickly enough, especially when Princess Ariel arrived with her younger daughters, three year old Sinfonia and one year old Melody. Jenny happily entertained the children, including Melody until she fell asleep and returned to Ariel, while their mothers played cards and talked about whatever they felt like. The hot topic this time: Jenny Doe and Dan Bennet, which they discussed in hushed voices.

"Really?" Jasmine asked with interest after Cinderella told them of her suspicions. "You know, I remember Aladdin saying that Dan was with Jenny when he first met her."

"And she's been going there every morning before work?" Mulan asked.

Cinderella nodded. "Anastasia told me that she usually gets there just after the bakery opens."

"Anastasia?" Mulan asked, in surprise. "Are you sure she's telling the truth?"

"Of course," Cinderella said. "After all, she's seeing Dan's cousin—the baker—and he's said that Dan is practically driven distracted by her."

"But he still hasn't asked her out?" Meg asked, raising an eyebrow.

"That's the thing—he has," Cinderella said.

"And?"

Cinderella shook her head. The other women stared at her.

"But why not?" Ariel asked, shifting Melody to her shoulder.

"We're not sure," Cinderella said. "Even though they definitely enjoyed each other's company last night."

"It might have something to do with her memory loss," Aurora offered.

"That's true," Mulan said with a nod. "I've had to deal with soldiers who lost memory because of something too traumatic to deal with."

"What could have possibly happened to make her avoid romance?" Snow White asked in alarm.

"I know a few examples," Meg said, focusing on her cards.

"There has to be a way to help her get over it," Mulan said.

"How?" Aurora asked.

"A moonlit boat ride?" Ariel suggested.

"A night on the town?" Jasmine offered.

"Does he sing?" Snow White asked. "He could serenade her."

"Of course, you could always try Belle's way," Meg commented. Getting only blank stares, she continued, "Lock them in a house together for a few months."

That brought laughter and Jenny's attention, which the royals noticed quickly.

"Jenny?" Cinderella called to her. "How about you take them to the prince's quarters? I'm sure that Dorian will enjoy company for lunch. This way the younger ones could go down for a nap, too."

Jenny smiled and followed instruction, leading the children out of the room as easily as if she were the Pied Piper, stopping to gather Melody from Ariel on their royal women waited for the door to close before they continued their discussion to develop a plan. It took them a few hours, but by the time the noon tea trays came in, they had settled on an idea.

"Alright," Jasmine said, slapping her palm on the table. "It's settled."

"Right," Mulan agreed. "I'll invite Jenny to join us for tea."

"At the bakery," Aurora agreed.

"Just a thought," Meg said, interrupting her fellow conspirators. "Has anyone run this past Belle?"

Cinderella and Aurora exchanged sheepish glances. "Well," Aurora said slowly. "That's where things get tricky."

Meg raised an eyebrow at her.

"How about we keep everything in the Magic Kingdom," Cinderella said after a moment. "Just for now. Belle only comes here once a week to visit her father, the longer we have before she finds out we're match-making, the better chance we have of Jenny and Mr Bennett taking their own steps."

"We're not match-making," Aurora corrected. "We promised your husband we weren't! We're simply arranging situations."

The others nodded in eager agreement. Meg, though, laughed. "Oh I can't wait to see what happens next."

**A/N:** And the chaos commences! Here's hoping I don't forget anything as I continue from here on in...


	12. Chapter 12

With the four royal daughters of Denmark and Aurora's two in tow, Jenny led the way to the prince's rooms with the youngest of each family on her hips. They called it a wing, but really it was only four rooms-his bedroom, the bathroom, the classroom, and a playroom which would someday be his own parlor. It didn't take long to figure out where Dorian was evading his nanny, and Jenny and her little group arrived in time to see him scrambling behind a sofa to get out of reach as Ms Teesen chased after him with another vest for his outfit.

"Your highness!" the elder woman snapped impatiently when she realized she couldn't get ahold of him. "Get out here this instant."

"Never!" Dorian shouted dramatically, firing an old plush monkey at the woman's feet.

The children attached to her giggled, drawing attention from both the nanny and prince. Ms Teesen frowned, but Prince Dorian grinned and let out a shout of joy as he hurried out from behind the sofa to join them. Then he bowed. "Hello Miss Jenny. Hello princesses. Hello Prince Stephen."

"Hello Prince Dorian," Odette chorused with Aria, Harmony, and Sinfonia.

"Your highness," Ms Teesen tried again, hoping to use the new arrivals as leverage as she stepped forward with the despised garments.

"No!" Dorian cried out, darting now behind Jenny and his friends.

"Perhaps it would be a better idea to leave it off," Jenny suggested, adjusting the children in her arms. "Just for today."

"Yeah!" Dorian agreed.

"Oh? And why is that?" Ms Teesen asked, clearly unimpressed as she looked down her nose at the young woman.

Registering that she'd been under the same sort of gaze before, Jenny quickly smiled and answered, "We're going off to the kitchen."

"Yay!" the children cheered.

Jenny couldn't help smiling at the enthusiasm as she faced the poor woman in front of her. "If you'd like, I'll leave these two with you," she said nodding towards the young prince and princess in her arms. "And maybe little Sinfonia, and I'll take the rest off for lunch—and I'll send food up for you three. Then they'll probably go for a nap, so I'll keep these ones away and give you quite."

Ms Teesen narrowed her eyes at Jenny, as though hunting for the catch. But slowly she nodded, looking actually relieved. "Alright," she said. "I wish you luck."

~~°o°~~

"So what _are_ we doing?" Princess Aria asked. Now that the four children and the social secretary had eaten their fill of many different sandwiches, the royals sat around the private kitchen's island counter and watched as Jenny set about collecting materials from around the room.

"A science experiment," Jenny answered, placing a large bowl on the table.

"Oh," Odette came very close to whining as she gave a small pout, a sentiment that was shared by her fellow princesses. "I thought we'd be baking cookies like you did with Dorian."

Dorian, on the other hand, looked fairly interested. "What kind of experiment?"

"A birthday one," Jenny answered vaguely and cast him a smile.

Now all four were frowning at her with confused curiosity.

"Alright," Jenny said, checking over the very strange assortment of materials and ingredients. She took a moment to spread a strong plastic tablecloth over the space in front of them, then she looked at the kids with a bright smile. "Everybody ready?"

Four cautious nods answered her.

"Ok, now, remember, no eating anything or touching our faces until we've washed our hands," Jenny said, to which the children nodded more readily. Then Jenny dove into the challenge.

She set up two disposable cups in front of each child, deciding to help Princess Harmony directly since she was the youngest. Then she had them fill one cup with small measurements of water and powder, which they stirred with little wooden coffee stirrers until the powder dissolved. Next the kids each picked out colors, which were quickly added to the water mix.

After that, she helped each of them add glue into the bottom of their second cups, followed by half a teaspoon of their colored water mix and a tablespoon of cornstarch. The children gave into excited squeals of delight as the glue changed color and interacted with the mix. Then they set about mixing it all together with their stirrers until each complained that they couldn't make the goo move anymore.

Jenny had each of them take the goo out of the cup and squish it around in their hands and against the table cloth, bringing giggles and squeals at the sticky, slimy mess. Once the goo started loosing its ability to stretch and squish, Jenny helped them roll the mess into little spheres until each was firmer.

"Pretty cool, huh?" Jenny asked, already cleaning up their work space as each of the kids stared at the little orbs.

"Beautiful," Odette sighed, staring at her pink ball in wonder.

"Yeah," Aria agreed, examining her own purple one and Harmony nodded in agreement, too intent on her yellow one to answer.

"Uh-huh," Dorian said, impressed but not as entranced as he looked up at his mother's secretary. "But what is it?"

Jenny smirked at him and held out her hand. "May I?"

The prince gave her a suspicious look, but plopped his bright green sphere into her hand. Then gasped as she turned her hand and pegged it at the ground.

Only to have the little ball shoot right back skyward again.

"They're BOUNCY BALLS!" Dorian shouted, jumping up in an effort to catch his. The girls clamored in delight, each seizing their own bouncy ball and throwing it hard against the kitchen's tiled floor.

Jenny giggled along with them as the four young royals darted all over the room in an attempt to regain control of their science projects.

"Ok, ok," she said, pausing Aria before the girl could chase her bouncy ball into a stack of pots. "How about we wash our hands a bit, then we'll take these somewhere with more room?"

She'd never seen children follow direction so fast, apparently the idea of more space to run after the little rubber balls was the best thought to enter their heads since the idea of bouncing. In no time at all Dorian was leading the way at a run to find the best bouncy ball place.

**A/N:** yeah, a nonsense chapter. I haven't actually made bouncy balls, but this is the summary I got lol anyone out there made them before?


	13. Chapter 13

Cinderella, Ariel, Mulan, and Aurora found them, an hour or two later, in the throne room, where the children were bouncing their toys across the rolling carpet. They'd turned it into a game actually, whoever could bounce it hard enough to get across the carpet got five points and the points went down with each bounce. If it rolled then you lost a point.

So far Odette was winning, which had surprised everyone, with Dorian and Aria tied for second. Harmony didn't have nearly as much force behind her actions and eventually had decided to see how much of a dance routine she could get through before her ball stopped bouncing. And all of this was explained to their mothers and the General's wife in great detail for the following five minutes.

"Well," Cinderella breathed with a smile, combing her fingers gently through her son's curls as he gave her a lingering hug. "It sounds as though Miss Jenny picked the perfect thing for you to do today."

The children nodded eagerly.

"It was my birthday surprise!" Dorian declared.

"I see," Cinderella said with a small chuckle. Her friends exchanged smiles and continued conversations with the children, but the taller queen's attention had been drawn to a pillar across the long running carpet, where her reddish-blonde secretary was lost deep in thought.

Detaching herself from her son for a moment, Cinderella joined Jenny in a few strides and waved to get the girl's attention. "It seems you've given Dorian two wonderful gifts for his birthday."

"Oh!" Jenny gasped. "Your majesty, I-."

"Is everything alright, Jenny?" Cinderella asked, frowning in concern. "You seem even more pensive today than any other time this week."

Jenny gave a sheepish smile. "There wasn't much time to be pensive this week, Majesty-I mean, um, Cin-Cinderella."

Cinderella sighed, she'd deal with that habit later. "Well then what were you thinking about?"

"A-uh-just a memory," Jenny said, blushing at the attention. "I think."

"A memory?" Cinderella repeated, her elegant eyebrows rising. "A memory of what?"

Jenny gave a small shrug and opened her mouth to answer, but movement caught her eye. An instant later, she'd pulled the queen down to duck with a shout of, "Look out!"

Above them, where their heads had been, a bright green bouncy ball ricocheted off the pillar and bounced back across the hall. Cinderella and Jenny looked up with questioning eyes, first looking at Dorian. But the young prince was gaping at them, his blue eyes large in surprise. His friends, the princesses, were staring between them and the Queen's companions. Aurora and Mulan were staring at Ariel and the redhead, though, had a hand clamped over her mouth and her own eyes were wide, but the queen and her secretary could see the corners of a smile peeking out from behind her hand.

"Mother!" Aria and Harmony yelped.

"Ariel?!"

At the clamor of voices, the ginger-haired queen burst out laughing. "I'm so sorry!" she hooted. "I just wanted to see how good it would bounce!"

Cinderella frowned, though not entirely angrily, then turned back to Jenny. And, though the younger woman was smirking at the situation, Cinderella looked at her with mild concern. "Do you know what your memory was linked to?"

Jenny's mirth toned down slightly as she thought back on it, but eventually she shrugged. "Only that I've done this experiment before," she said. "With another group of children."

The queen regarded her pensively, then started walking back to the waiting group. "Well," she said after a moment or two. "Unfortunately that could be anywhere in the empire."

With a rueful smile, Jenny hummed in agreement.

But Cinderella smiled. "Perhaps I can find someone that may know more."

Jenny raised an eyebrow at her employer, wondering and partially doubting the idea. Then found herself the focus of two more sets of eyes, Queen Ariel having gone off to join in the children's game. Jenny gave them a sheepish smile.

"I know!" Mulan said brightly, smiling at them. "Tomorrow we're all going for tea around noon! Cinderella said that you have the day off, so perhaps you could join us."

The social secretary glanced warily between the three excited faces. And her own face started to heat up. "Well... actually," she said slowly, twisting her fingers as she forced the sentence out. "I wasn't planning on... being here tomorrow."

"Oh."

The important women of the Empire looked torn between surprise and disappointment, both expressions which made Jenny feel incredibly uncomfortable. But Cinderella was the quickest to turn curious.

"Really?" She asked kindly as shrieks of enthusiasm announced the start of another game for Ariel and the royal children. "Where are you headed? If you don't mind me asking, that is."

"Oh, no, that's alright," Jenny said quickly, but her smile grew more embarrassed. "I'm heading to—uh—the Hollywood Studios."

"The Studios?" Mulan repeated with delight. "Oh isn't it nice over there!"

"I, uh, don't actually know," Jenny said with an awkward smile. "I don't think I've ever been there. Or, well, maybe I have. That's why I'm going. That night I had dinner with Belle's father and—and a friend, I had a memory of a Christmas. And he suggested I look in the Studios."

The Queens and the general's wife looked impressed with the idea, clearly agreeing with it, and each gave her bright smiles. "Well that sounds like as logical a start as any," Aurora appraised, then gave Jenny a concerned look. "You're not going alone, are you?"

Jenny gave the queen a warm smile. "No," she promised. "My friend is coming with me."

"Oh good!" Aurora said in relief.

"It sounds like you have a great adventure ahead of you, then," Mulan said with a grin.

"Should be," Jenny said, trying to keep the anxious feeling out of her stomach.

Cinderella gave Jenny a quick hug. "Well you have a good time tomorrow," she said. "I can't wait to hear about it."

~~°o°~~

When Jenny set out the next morning around nine, she found herself trudging through rain and slowly melting snow which created a good amount of slush beneath her shoes. But that didn't bother her as badly as it apparently irritated everyone else on Main St. Smiling to herself, she nodded to the few neighbors she passed and quickly darted through the tunnels beneath the train station.

On the other side of the train tracks, barely anyone was out and about. Though there were still visitors to the kingdom coming towards her, they weren't nearly in as great a number as she'd seen before, and it was fairly easy to weave through them towards the Monorail station.

At the top of the ramp, leaning precariously against the rail beneath the awning, the only other waiting passenger smiled brightly at her. "Good morning, Miss Doe."

"Good morning, Mr Bennett." She smiled warmly back. "Did I keep you waiting long?"

"Not at all," he said, falling in step with her to choose a gate. "You're right on time."

Jenny gave him another appreciative smile before glancing down to make sure she had everything she might need for a visit to the studios. Dan, though, was frowning at the station conductors over her shoulder. The two men, dressed in maroon slacks and white button downs with maroon caps, had leveled Dan with incredulous smirks at his most recent comment before breaking into grins. When Jenny looked back up she found Dan still in the middle of a nonverbal war.

She glanced back at the station conductors curiously, both men moving quickly to pretend they were checking for the next monorail train, then up at Dan again. "Is everything alright?"

"Hmm? Oh-uh-yes, just trying to focus my thoughts," he said quickly.

Jenny raised an eyebrow at him, but as Dan turned his attention towards the other direction of the track she shrugged it off.

"Here it comes," Dan said not a moment later, drawing her attention to the sleek, white and teal automotive on its quick approach.

She smiled up at him, not sure if she was nervous or excited that they were really on their way. If nothing else, she definitely knew she was anxious-what part of her past was waiting at the Hollywood Studios? Was any of her past there?

As the monorail train pulled to a smooth halt and there was a soft hiss when the air locks released the doors, Jenny took a deep breath. Ready or not, she was on her way.

"Worried about what we'll find?" Dan asked once they'd taken seats and the doors slid closed again.

Jenny nodded. "What if it's bad?"

"It won't be," Dan said.

"How do you know?" she asked, managing to brace herself as the super train lurched into motion.

He glanced at her, but turned toward the window as he answered with a soft smile. "Because you're not."

And with that, Jenny blushed a deep red.

~~°o°~~

Their ride to the central transportation and ticket center for the kingdom was quiet after that, except for the informational track that Mickey had decided should run on the monorail speakers. From the main monorail station, Jenny and Dan took a bus to the Hollywood Studios, where the rain had stopped and the sun was already shining to dry up whatever muck was on the streets. Even though she was nervous, she couldn't help being excited to see the glamorous corner of the kingdom.

Something about the entry to Hollywood made her stop.

"Is something wrong?" Dan asked.

Jenny shook her head slowly. "Not wrong," she said, "just... familiar."

"Do you remember why?" Dan asked hopefully.

She glanced around as they stepped through the archways, looking at the gas station on the right then the eclectic shop on the left. Everything had a familiar feel to it, but she still couldn't figure out why.

At the guest relations kiosk, a girl in a studio uniform smiled at them. "Welcome to Hollywood, my name's Minah," she said, watching as Jenny's eyes scanned the pamphlets on the side of her window. "On a return visit?"

Jenny and Dan exchanged glances. "Uh, no," Dan said, smiling politely. "First time, actually, why? Do we look familiar?"

Minah blushed. "Oh! No—uh—it's just," she stammered, running a hand through her short dark hair. "Just—the way she was looking at our guides—the shoot lists—it was almost like she was a local. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you or anything."

"Don't worry," Jenny said quickly and smiled. "We're not offended."

"What was so different about her looking at the shoot lists?" Dan asked.

A smile reappeared on Minah's face as she pulled out a few of the pamphlets and laid them on the counter for Jenny and Dan. "These are lists of the current movies being filmed or screened or premiering on lot today," she said, running her finger down the list. "Oh! And Aerosmith is having a recording session down the end of Sunset, next to the old Hollywood Tower Hotel, I know they like having fans listen in every now and then—and then they're going to have a concert, so you might want to go see if you can get tickets."

Dan glanced at Jenny, but she was busily reading the shoot lists. Minah, though, kept going. "If you're interested in stunts, I think they're shooting a new spy film at three in the back lot—and the Indiana Jones crew is giving an interactive demonstration throughout the day. If you want to view the best movies of all time, here's the show schedule for the Chinese Theatre—right down the end of Hollywood Boulevard," she said, pointing behind her before continuing. "Or, if you like, since it's a weekend, the animation studios are open to the public, so you're more than welcome to take a tour of the place—in fact, if you get over there, tell them Minah sent you and see if you can get Tony as your guide."

"Thanks," Dan said, as she handed him the shoot lists along with a map. "We'll look into it."

Minah gave them another large smile. "Glad to be of assistance!" she said cheerfully. "Don't forget to check out some of the shops on your way, also the Starring Rolls Café has the best coffee around."

Jenny looked up sharply and Dan glanced at her, but smiled at Minah. "Thanks again," Dan said as he steered Jenny away.

When they were well enough away from the kiosk—past the camera shop and kitchen store—Dan finally turned to Jenny. "Did you remember something?" he asked. "When she was talking about coffee?"

"The Starring Rolls Café," Jenny said, but she didn't continue. Her mind was racing with confused images surrounding the Café—where it was, the layout inside, the menu—the only thing she couldn't remember was why she knew the place at all.

"Jenny?" Dan asked, placing his hand lightly on her shoulder.

She blinked and looked up at him, then down the street to the corner of Hollywood and Sunset where she could just see the low brown clay roof of the café behind the bus stop. "There," she said, pointing. "That's the café."

Dan took a second, looking down at the map then back at her. "How did you know that?"

"She was right," Jenny said. "I had to have been here before."

"Then you must have been a local," Dan said, smiling. "At least for a while—maybe someone will remember you. What else can you think of?"

Jenny smiled up at him and slipped her hand into his, too eager to care that it was the first time they'd held hands. "C'mon."

**A/N:** Tada! So... yeah, first part definitely belongs to the previous segment. Better late than never!


	14. Chapter 14

Dan's surprise at her touch faded and he smiled back at her as she tugged him to continue down the street. Each art-deco building they passed brought new memories, which Jenny happily told Dan, pointing out landmarks and the best food and where what movie had been shot.

"You must have been interested in movies," Dan observed as they sat down for lunch at the Studio Catering Co. It was alot like the other commissaries they'd passed, you ordered at a counter and then sat down with a tray of food, but somehow this one was a cut above the rest, offering specialty sandwiches and desserts and everything from juice to wine for drinks. She hadn't been able to explain why, but Jenny had assured him that this was the best place for lunch.

And it was.

Jenny turned back from looking at the abnormally huge blades of grass in the movie-set-turned-playground next door and smiled at him. "I don't know about interested, but I definitely knew about them," she agreed, then motioned back to the playground. "Like that, for instance, that used to be just a regular grassy lawn before, but Professor Wayne Zelynski accidentally enlarged it with his growth ray while they were shooting a documentary of his rise in the science world. Kids enjoyed it so much, the mayor-Mr Parr-decided to leave it large for them."

Dan chuckled at this bit of insight. "I'm sure the science teachers appreciate it too."

She grinned at him. "I'd have to agree."

They continued to smile at each other as they worked their way through their lunches and eventually they strolled away towards the Streets of America. Where Jenny stopped cold and stared.

"I know here," she said definitively. "I don't know why, but I know here."

"Well, then," Dan said, still smiling. "Lead the way."

She glanced at him, a nervous excitement building in her chest. And again she took his hand before starting down the street.

The buildings here were taller and a little older and more stately, clearly catering more towards the residential aspects of the Hollywood Studios. Still, there were a few storefronts and street vendors along the sidewalk between doorsteps and subway entrances. It was a very spirited and colorful atmosphere. Had she remembered it earlier, she may have been tempted to eat here instead. Aromas of popcorn and pretzels and hotdogs filled the air along with spiced nuts and Chinese and pizza.

All around, causing traffic in the streets and a near dance on the sidewalk, people wove around obstacles, solely intent on getting to wherever their destinations may be. Many were adults who looked rushed and mildly irritated or tourists who were somewhat lost, but a great many were children running pel-mel between them even though it was a school day. Then again, Jenny remembered, some schools let children go home for lunch and that building near the end... there was something different about it that she couldn't quite place. And that little girl with blonde pigtails...

"Hey," Dan said as they got to the end of the street. "Do you mind if I step inside for a moment?"

"Hmm?" Jenny looked up curiously to find him looking at the Writer's Stop, a "mom 'n pop" bookshop and cafe that had been there forever. "Oh! Sure, but-um-Do you mind if I stay out here?" she asked. "There's something I want to check."

"I don't have to," Dan said quickly, eager to assist.

But Jenny smiled and shook her head. "Don't be silly! You've never been here before," she said. "You might as well see all you can. And I won't go far. Just across the street."

He looked tentative for a moment, but gave her a nod and a smile. "I'll be quick," he promised, the strode towards the shop.

Jenny waited until the door closed behind him before she went practically skipping across the cross-walk as though her feet knew exactly what she was supposed to be doing. And perhaps they did. Once she got across the busy street, Jenny quickly made her way down the sidewalk to where the little girl was focused on some pebbles by her feet.

"Hello," Jenny said, smiling at the little girl.

"Hello," she responded, not looking up.

"Mind if I join you?" Jenny asked.

The little girl shrugged and Jenny sat down on the curb as well. The girl looked up once. Then twice. And by the third time, the little blonde was analyzing Jenny with a thoughtful frown.

Knowing that there were questions brewing, Jenny smiled at her. "Yes?"

"Aren't you Miss Jenny?"

She stared at the large blue eyes that waited patiently for an answer. How on earth did this little girl—little orphan if her uniform over-alls were telling the truth—know who she was? No one else they'd met had known her. And this girl couldn't have been more than six!

"Well, yes," she finally said, covering her shock with another smile. "Yes, I am. How did you know that?"

The little girl raised an eyebrow at her. "You used to come read stories to us at Morningside Orphanage," she said. "Don't you remember?"

Even though she was only being asked a question from a child, the incredulous tone made Jenny blush. "I'm afraid that's the problem," she said, glancing back across the street to make sure Dan hadn't appeared yet. "I've lost my memory. I haven't been able to remember much more than my name."

"Really?" The little girl asked, her eyes going wide. "Not even your favorite color?"

"Not even where I live," Jenny said.

The little girl stared. Then she frowned as she mulled over this knowledge a bit before she gave Jenny a kindhearted smile and held out her hand. "I'm Penny," she said. "Its nice to re-meet you."

Jenny chuckled and shook the girl's hand. "The pleasure is mine."

Penny smiled even larger, then tucked her feet in close—mirroring the pose Jenny had. "You don't remember any of your stories, either?"

"I'm afraid not," Jenny said, shaking her head, then she looked at the girl curiously. "Did you have a favorite one?"

Penny thought on it for a moment, then smiled. "I have two favorites," she said, holding up both of her index fingers. "The one about Bluebeard's lost diamond and the one about the kitty in boots. I tried to get Rufus to wear boots, but it didn't work so well."

Jenny smile. "Is Rufus your kitty?"

"No," Penny said sounding a little sad about it. "He belongs to the orphanage. But since I do too, he keeps me company. Well, me and Teddy."

"Oh that's good, then," Jenny said, then paused to think on the story topics that Penny had listed. A cat wearing boots... Nope, no memories sprang from that. A pirate's diamond? That one was ringing bells. "Do you remember any of the pirate story? The one about the diamond?"

"Sure I do," Penny said proudly. "Down in Louisiana or somewhere, Bluebeard the pirate was looking for a place to hide his treasure-especially the biggest diamond anyone had ever seen. And his daughter found a cave that filled with water when the tide came in. So Bluebeard hid all his best treasure in there. And no one's been able to find it since."

Jenny nodded with interest, even though there were obviously details missing, and smiled in appreciation. "That does sound like a fun story," she said, glancing up as a flash of brown tweed caught her eye to see Dan making his way across the street. "I guess I'll have to work hard to remember it all."

Penny's eyes went large with excitement. "And then you'll come back and tell it to us again?"

"I'd love to," Jenny said, finding the girl's enthusiasm contagious.

"Good," Penny said, then shyly added, "You were always my favorite."

Jenny smiled, fairly sure now that the little girl had been her favorite too.

At that moment the sound of a bell drew both of their attentions down the street to the front stoop of the Morningside Orphanage, where one of the nuns who ran the place was calling her children back inside. Jenny and Penny got to their feet.

"Well," Jenny said as they dusted off their skirts. "It was lovely re-meeting you, Penny."

"It was lovely re-meeting you, too," Penny said, holding out her hand which Jenny gladly shook.

More vigorous ringing drew their attention back to the orphanage and they let go. Penny ran a few steps and turned around to grin and wave, then continued on to the orphanage stoop.

**A/N:** Some of what they did in MGM Hollywood Studios ^_^ and the debut of a fairly influential character...


	15. Chapter 15

The rest of the day wore away quickly enough with a performance at the Muppet theatre followed by watching the filming of a new spy movie and dinner at Mama Melrose's Restaurant. Mama Melrose seemed to recognize her too, but the frizzy-haired woman was speaking such rapid Italian that Jenny had no hope of even catching one of the four or five words she knew. Then she and Dan were promptly hugged and kissed and left to their over-filled plates with bemused shock on their faces. It also turned out that Mama Melrose herself had decided to have their meals on the house, but the two silently agreed to leave a generous tip behind.

After dinner, they took their time strolling back through Hollywood, stopping at a Christmas shop, then catching a movie at the Chinese Theatre, and eventually touring the Animation lot. By the end, it was easy to say that their feet were not happy, but neither could stop smiling or laughing as they made their way back down Hollywood Boulevard. It wasn't the end of the day and they definitely hadn't done everything, but Jenny had looked at Dan with such a delighted smile and said "We'll come back again to do everything else."

It was one of her thousand-watt smiles and it nearly knocked him off his feet. In fact, he was surprised it hadn't, especially when she'd basically promised that she wanted to come back here with him. So agreeing was no problem. Then it was his turn to pose an idea. "Suppose we take a longer way home?" he asked, earning him a curious glance. So he pointed off to the side, away from where they'd go to catch their bus, to wear a pat lead down to a lightly populated boat dock. "I hear that the Boardwalk isn't too far away. Would you like to go there for dessert?"

Jenny tilted her head to one side as she thought about it. "We go by boat?"

Dan nodded.

She mulled it over another moment or two only to look up as they heard the boat's horn announce its arrival. Then she looked up at Dan with a grin. "I guess we'd better run."

The boat's horn sounded again, announcing the loading of passengers, and Dan grinned back. Then they darted towards the dock. Running in a long skirt was probably not the best idea, but Jenny managed to do fairly well keeping up with Dan as they made it down to the dock. The first-mate, who'd watched them run, stood by the gate with a playful smile on his face.

"Welcome aboard," he said, closing the gate behind them and then walking them to the small boat. "C'mon in and rest a while!"

"They made it!" the captain proclaimed into the boat's microphone, making them both go red as the few other passengers applauded their feat. "Awesome run, folks. Best I've seen in years!"

~~°o°~~

The boat ride was a jolly one, the captain and his first-mate sang songs while they worked and interacted with their guests in a way that could only make them all smile. They stopped over at dock which lead to two large and modern looking hotels, then docked at the glittering boardwalk. Blinking lights and colorful sings lit up the wooden walkway of shops against the night. Music, laughter, and excited chatter filled the air almost as thickly as the aromas of pizza and chocolate and popcorn.

Jenny was definitely sure she'd never been here.

"All out for the Boardwalk!" the Captain announced, opening the door as the first-mate made sure the boat was securely docked. "Or if you'd like to stay with us, we'll be heading across the lake to the Beach and Yacht Clubs! Just gonna take a minute to load. And no more races, you two!"

Dan and Jenny blushed at the comment, but both grinned at him as they got off the boat. Instantly the cold chill reminded them what month it was, but just like everyone else under the strands of draped lights, they quickly realized weather really didn't matter and were absorbed into the energy.

There were game vendors lined up along the rail next to the lake and shops with colorful window displays placed quaintly among the numerous restaurants. Each had its own music and feel, but all of them were ringing with enthusiasm as they passed. They walked all the way down to the Atlantic City Dance Hall, where there was a private party going on, having played several games and seen a few magic acts and ended up seated on a bench where they watched the lake while they listened to the dueling pianos at a place called Jellyrolls.

"I didn't even know this existed," Jenny said as the pianos inside came to the end of a song. "Its like its own little world here."

Dan smiled. "I know," he said, then his expression dimmed. "I grew up here."

Jenny turned to him with large eyes. "On the boardwalk?"

He continued to smile. "My mother worked at the hotel's front desk," he said. "And my Father was... well, he owned a-uh-a bar around here."

She looked at him curiously, but something in the expression on his face told her that he wasn't going to elaborate on it. "So you got to do this sort of thing all the time," she commented, hoping to turn the conversation back to less troubled waters. "Do you miss it?"

"Miss what?" he asked curiously.

"All the life and excitement," Jenny said, gesturing back down the way. "From what I've seen, Main Street isn't anywhere near as active."

Dan gave something of a laugh. "You've yet to see it on a holiday," he pointed out. "The next one is Valentine's day. Just you watch, I promise it will be just as energetic."

"I'll believe that when I see it, Mr Bennett," Jenny said coyly, smiling at him.

He smiled back, looking like he had before his past came up. "Alright," he said and got to his feet. "I'll show you how the Magic Kingdom does Valentine's day and if it's not better than what you've seen tonight, then I'll take you to my favorite ice cream parlor every day you have off for the next month."

Jenny laughed and got up as well. "And if it is?"

"Then we go miniature golfing," he said after a moment's thought. "Deal?"

"I don't think I know how," Jenny said with a laugh as she shook hands on it.

Dan shrugged. "It's not hard," he said. "I'll show you."

Jenny felt her face burn, but she smiled up at him suspiciously. "You sound like you're pretty sure you're going to win."

He grinned. "I honestly don't see how either instance is losing."

If it was possible, her face felt even warmer now. A glance up told her that Dan had gained some pink coloring as well. He softly cleared his throat and motioned that they could start walking again. So they did, quietly. It wasn't until they'd passed the crowd surrounding a juggler on unicycle that either said anything and then it was Dan asking in a funny tone, "Do you like sweets?"

The tone alone made her fight down giggles, but the question struck her as particularly ridiculous. "I don't believe I've met many who don't," she said, smirking though she eyed him suspiciously. "And then it depends on what type."

A mischievous smile came to his face. "I think you might like the Sweet Shoppe."

Jenny raised an eyebrow at him, which only earned her a wider grin. Then Dan gently guided her by the shoulders across the crowd. Which only proved a little challenging as Jenny had to remind her feet how to walk while he held her through the layers of fabric.

He led her into the sugar shop, which easily made her smile. The floors were black and white checkered squares and the walls were rosy pink, though they could scarcely be seen behind the tall shelves and containers of candy or photos from long ago eras. Dan quickly went off towards the counter, but Jenny slowly browsed the shelves, taking in every detail of this shop and comparing it to the larger Confectionary on Main St.

"Jenny!"

The sound of her name made her jump, nearly crashing into a display of decorative popcorn cans. "Mara?!"

Quickly the other girl helped her steady them, then smiled at her. "Fancy seeing you here!"

"Hi," Jenny greeted with a laugh as her friend gave her a hug. "What are you doing out here?"

"Well," Mara said, glancing over her shoulder at a trio of friends, all dressed as brightly as she was. "We were gonna go dancin' but the Dance Hall's closed. So we're heading over to the EPCOT to watch the Showcase fireworks-Wanna come? Its only an hour or two till show!"

Jenny glanced from Mara's expectant face (as well as the four or five with her), then in the direction she'd last seen Dan go. "Um," she said, surprised when she couldn't find him. "I don't think I can."

The group let out a little groan.

"I would love to, really," Jenny assured them quickly. "But I came her with a friend and I don't know if there's already plans for the rest of the evening."

"Its alright, girl," one of Mara's friends assured her with a nice smile. "Tiana turned us down too."

"She did?" Jenny asked conversationally, already knowing the reason their mutual friend wasn't present.

Mara rolled her eyes. "The girl's working another triple shift."

Jenny grimaced. Mara nodded in agreement.

"At least your excuse is that you're already out," Mara said, giving Jenny a smile that let her know she'd be getting teased for not joining later.

"I'll join you next time," Jenny promised. "Maybe when it's warmer."

"I hear that," one of the guys muttered.

"Alright, well you enjoy," Mara said, giving her another hug. "But if your friend doesn't have plans, bring 'em along! We're going to try cutting through to the other side of Canada."

Jenny nodded. "I'll see what I can do."

Mara smiled at the promise and soon the group went out the door waving. Jenny watched them through the large shop windows for a moment, smiling and shaking her head.

"Was that Miss Freeman?" Dan asked, coming up alongside her with a small white paper bag.

"Yes, she and some friends were heading off to watch the fireworks," Jenny said. "They've invited us along."

"Oh?" Dan thought on it for a moment. "Would you like to?"

Even if she wasn't tired and wanted to hurt her ears by watching up close and be lost in a sea of people, the hesitant look on Dan's face would have been more than enough to stop her from saying so. "I'm going to sound horrible," she said, with a sheepish smile. "But I'd really rather not."

A smile, with a small form of relief, came to Dan's face, which was followed by another moment of thought. "I know a great place to watch from," he said. "If you still want to see them."

Like she'd been doing all evening, Jenny gave him a curious glance. Dan was proving to be quite the interesting companion. But the cold wind off the water was starting to cut through her coat and her home seemed to be the best direction for the night. "Would you mind if we see them another time?" she asked, already knowing that she was blushing. "Sometime warmer?"

The look Dan gave her was strange—surprise mingled with delight and anxiety. But he nodded and gave her a smile. "Shall we call it a night then?" he asked, holding out his arm. "We have quite the bus ride back to the Magic Kingdom."

~~°o°~~

Jenny and Dan found their way to the Boardwalk Hotel's bus depot and caught a bus back to the TTC. They were fairly quiet on the bus ride, where they shared a small square of chocolate/peanut butter fudge Dan had picked up from the sweets shop. Both happily worn from the exertions of the day, but the silence wasn't uncomfortable. But soon enough they reached the TTC and made a quick dash through the rain, hand in hand, to catch the approaching monorail.

"Well," Jenny said into the quiet of their monorail car as the Magic Kingdom inched closer. "I guess I might be from Hollywood."

Dan nodded in agreement, equally deep in his own thoughts, but he smiled at her. "Maybe we should start watching movies?" he suggested.

Jenny looked at him in confusion.

His eyes took on a mischievous gleam as he turned to her. "You know," he said off-handedly. "In case you were in one."

She stared at him for a moment before it clicked. Then she paled at the thought, only to seconds later be burning with embarrassment at the idea. And the gentle teasing. So she smirked and elbowed him, making her arm tingle where they had touched.

The rest of the ride was quiet, both for pensive reasons and strange fluttery feelings, only interrupted as the driver's voice announced over the speaker system that they had arrived and for passengers to remember everything they may have brought with them. Dan and Jenny quickly scooped up their bags and stepped out onto the platform as two of the last of a very few to disembark.

"Thank you, Mr Bennett," Jenny said as they slowly walked down the ramp, neither in all that much of a hurry to rejoin the rain. "I appreciate that you went with me for this."

"My pleasure," Dan assured her, giving her a smile. "It was by far the best rainy day I've had in a long time."

Jenny smiled at the compliment and paused at the edge of the dry pavement, inches from the rain.

"Allow me," Dan offered as she moved to hunt down her umbrella. In seconds his own umbrella was open and in the air above their heads.

She gave him a blushing smile only moments before Dan wrapped an arm around her to pull her close. Though she realized that he'd had to—so that they'd both fit under the umbrella—Jenny was glad her face was now up against his jacket instead of in a visible area. And so they hurried up Main Street, huddled together against the rain and muffling their giggles, which only grew as they realized how ridiculous they must have looked splashing through puddles.

"Thank you again," Jenny said as they arrived at the small porch of number 7 Market Place, one of her brightest smiles on her face.

"You're welcome," Dan said, looking a little dazed for a moment before he gave himself a shake and gave her a small bow. "Have a wonderful evening, Miss Doe."

Jenny continued to smile as she nodded and turned to unlock her door. "You too, Mr. Bennett."

Dan nodded and waited even after she opened her door. "Right," he said when she looked up at him curiously. "I'll see you tomorrow, then."

"Bright and early," Jenny agreed with another nod and smile.

As he took another step down, she caught herself trying to say something and it made him look up with interest. "Yes?"

Her smile was a little uncertain, but she made it grow warm. "Just—have pleasant dreams, Mr Bennett."

Dan returned the smile. "I believe I shall," he said, hesitating only a beat before adding. "I hope you do too."

Jenny felt her face start to warm again as she cast him one last glance and stepped into the dry warmth of her house. Then she hurried to the bay window in her dining room where she quietly watched him stroll away through the rain.

**A/N:** The rest of Jenny's night out with Dan ^_^


	16. Chapter 16

"So you think you're from the studios?" Cinderella asked, pouring tea for the two of them.

It was just after four o'clock the next day and they'd just finished the parade circut, which took place every day in the Magic Kingdom. As soon as they'd gotten back, the royal couple had gone to switch their royal regalia for more comfortable clothes. Now the Queen was in a light pink cotton gown that was flattering in its simplicity and, proclaiming she was fairly hungry, had given up waiting for the King and Prince.

"I don't know," Jenny said, accepting one of the delicate blue cups. "But its the most likely I can think of."

"As an actress?" Cinderella asked, tilting her head to one side and analyzing her social secretary.

Jenny felt a little of the color drain from her face. "Oh, I hope not.'

Cinderella chuckled into her cup. "Alright then, maybe not," she agreed after a sip. "But what else can one do in the studios?"

"Lots of things, I'm sure," Jenny said with a shrug, her mind more focused on sifting through what she could possibly know rather than what to answer with. "There's stunt work, lighting, cameras, tours, directing, sound systems, research, animation, voice work, costuming-not to mention the hotel and the shops and dentist office and restaurants..."

Her voice dropped off as she noticed the Queen staring at her. Jenny blushed uncomfortably, thinking back over the list. Nothing was wrong, was it? Her blush only deepened when she realized that not only had it been right, it had been more than anyone else would have said or cared to know.

"You know," Cinderella said finally, a curious smile on her lips. "I believe your memory comes back the more you don't think about it."

Before Jenny could respond the doors to the Queen's salon were flung open by a running Prince Dorian, whom was followed quickly by his poor haggard governess. "Your highness, you need to-."

"No!" Dorian interrupted her abruptly. "I don't want to wear that stupid vest and cravat!"

"Dorian," Cinderella said reproachfully. "That's what men wear."

"No!" he yelped.

"Your highness, you cannot go running around like a ragamuffin," Ms Teesen insisted. "What would the rest of the kingdom think?"

"That I'm happy and comfortable and normal," Dorian answered readily, making both his mother and Jenny nearly laugh.

"Your Highn-."

"No! Never!" he declared, running further into the room and right over to Jenny. "Save me, Miss Jenny!"

She was unable to hold in her laugh as the young prince scurried onto her lap and pulled her arms around himself protectively, she willingly obliged and tightened the hold gently. Then the two smiled up at Ms Teesen. The older woman looked from her charge to the queen who shrugged apathetically. Then she huffed in defeat, turned and walked away muttering and waving her hands (which still clutched the offending clothing) in the air. Jenny straightened up again so she and the prince could giggle.

"Dorian," Cinderella said sternly once the door closed again. "What do you say?"

"Oh," gasped the young prince, then he turned and smiled. "Thank you for saving me, Miss Jenny!"

"You're very welcome, young prince," Jenny said, fighting the urge to chuckle. "You may count on me whenever you need an ally in the fight against stiff vests and tight neckties."

This proclamation earned her a kiss on the cheek, which she responded to with a hug before the little boy scooted down off her knees to take his seat on the sofa across from them. Cinderella sighed and rolled her eyes, but the jovial smile that crossed her face was inevitable.

"Dorian, do you know where Miss Jenny went yesterday?" Cinderella asked him, pouring him a cup of milk since he tended to dislike tea.

"Where?" he asked, already piling a small plate high with tea cakes.

"To the Hollywood Studios," Jenny answered for herself.

Prince Dorian's eyes went wide. "Really?"

Jenny nodded, her smile still going strong.

"Did you get to see them filming? Were there stars everywhere? Did you eat with one? What was the parade like?..."

More than a dozen rapid-fire questions sprang towards her, making the Queen laugh as Jenny tried to field each of them. She was in the middle of explaining how she had seen a behind-the-scenes look at the stunts for an up-coming spy movie when the King came in-with his vest and cravat perfectly in place.

The group rose and Cinderella gave her husband a kiss, which made the little prince grouse. The King and Queen smiled at him, then Charming joined his son and they all settled down for tea again.

"It sounds as though you've been to the studios," Charming said as Cinderella handed him a cup of tea.

"Why, yes, I have, your majesty," Jenny said, blinking in surprise. "How did you-?"

"I have my ways," he said mysteriously before sipping his tea, then added with a grin, "Plus there's a limited list of things that interests Dorian that much."

The little boy made a face as Jenny and Cinderella chuckled, only to have his dad ruffle his unruly blond curls.

"So Hollywood," Charming repeated, casting a glance at his son. "How was that?"

"Good, I think," Jenny said, smiling at the king.

"Jenny was just saying that it all felt incredibly familiar to her," Cinderella filled in. "Even bumped into a little girl that seems to know her."

Charming's eyebrows rose, giving her an impressed look as he bit into a tea-cake. Jenny smiled, more so at the display of similarities of Father and Son that the royal men displayed-each setting into the petite fours with a nearly improper gusto.

"Well that's good news!" Charming said around the cake. "Maybe you were friends with her parents?"

Jenny shook her head. "I don't think so," she said, looking down at her tea. "She said I'd told stories to them at the orphanage."

"Orphanage?" Dorian repeated, looking surprised, curious, and thoughtful all at once. "What stories did you tell them?"

"I don't remember," Jenny admitted. "But she said at least one was about a cat wearing boots and the other was about a pirate hiding some large diamond in the bayou."

The little boy's eyes went wide with interest, clearly dying to know the story too, but his parents exchanged glances.

~~°o°~~

"What do you think it means?" Cinderella asked her husband late that night.

"Hmm?"

"What do you think Jenny remembering that story means?"

Charming, looking very much like what Cinderella had always imagined Adonis might be like while lounging in blankets, considered the question carefully. "I suppose it could mean any number of things," he said after a moment or two. "It could mean she knew the Foxwood family. Or she'd heard the story from someone who knew them. Or she could be related to the pirate himself."

"You've forgotten one," Cinderella said resting her head on his warm shoulder.

He chuckled and she smiled at the rumbling sound in his chest. "I'm sure I've forgotten more than one," he said, softly. "Alright, which one sticks out in your mind?"

She shifted so that her chin was resting on his chest while she spoke. "She could be one of the Foxwoods."

Charming smiled at her, though mostly due to the tickling sensation she'd caused from where her chin, but it was tinted with worry at the idea. "Its a possibility," he admitted, moving to run his hand through her wavy golden hair. "A dangerous one, but it almost has a high probability."

"Do you think we should tell her?" Cinderella asked, instantly sitting up as though she were ready to act right now despite the late hour. "Have her move into the castle?"

He smiled at her kind ways and pushed up onto his elbows to kiss her nose. "I think we should let her discover a little more of her memory before we spill our theories into the mix," he said, smirking as he pulled her close again. "And I don't think she'd be all that happy with the idea of leaving her little townhouse in Market Place."

Cinderella snuggled up against her husband, smiling back down at him. "Alright, but you agree we keep an eye on her?"

"If it means more nights like this, I'll employ Mulan to follow her around," Charming said with another chuckle.

She giggled as well and gave him a kiss, then they settled down as sleep seemed inevitable. "I think the servants will be irritated enough when they find out you're in here again instead of your own chambers."

Charming snorted to show his opinion of the old-fashioned royal standard of separate husband and wife suites. From their wedding day ten years ago, he was fairly sure he'd only slept in his assigned bed six or seven times. Well, outside of when she was traveling without him. And even some of those nights he preferred being in his wife's chamber just so that there was a sense of her.

"Let them be irritated then," he said, yawning before he nestled his face into her hair, taking in its comforting scent of vanilla and almonds.

In his arms, Cinderella smiled and held him more firmly. He could have turned out to be anything, she'd known that at the ball all those years ago. And though she'd never boast aloud, she definitely believed that she'd won the lottery of princes. He was a little awkward and anti-social when it came to dealing with the world outside their castle, but that (she'd decided) was what she was there for.

And in harmony, the "glass slipper" couple drifted off into their dreams.

_**A/N:**__ Aaaaaand just a short little visit with Cinderella and Charming ^_^ There's definitely more on the way, but I figured I'd get this part out of the way lol_


	17. Chapter 17

It was Valentine's day, the most romanticized day of the year and it was actually a few degrees warmer than any other day of the winter had been, and Jenny Doe was hiding in the guest bedroom of her small yellow house. It wasn't that she hated the holiday, granted she couldn't remember if she should anyway, but after all the extra efforts the people around her had put into her personal life the last thing she wanted to do was celebrate this holiday.

She knew they were just trying to be nice, but it really was driving her crazy. Some days were worse than others, but there were definitely a few that stood out in her mind. On Wednesday, Cinderella had taken her off to tea in Fantasyland with Mulan, Megara, and Sultana Jasmine-wherein they promptly learned that Jenny was actually allergic to jasmine (the flower) tea. And unfortunately Dan had arrived just in time for Jenny to pass out.

On Thursday, they went to Liberty Square to check on decorations. This resulted in a fantastic display of poor coordination as Jenny avoided tripping over a small child that was running past her knees by stepping backwards into Dan, of all people, who'd been sent to get material for Anastasia, and promptly sending them both crashing to the ground in a colorful heap of fabrics.

Saturday, Jenny found herself being pulled to go ice skating. Or at least, going with the royal family as they-the royals, that is-went skating. Or so she hoped. It wasn't exactly a memory, per say, but a deeply rooted understanding that she and ice didn't mix well. Which was promptly ignored by the Queen and her son, and Jenny found herself shakily trying to not break her neck as others glided around her. Charming came to her rescue twice, catching her arm as he passed and pausing to steady her before he was called away again. By the third time, when Jenny nearly sprained her ankle, the king graciously got her off to a bench and told everyone they weren't allowed to bother her with demands to skate again. So she happily watched the numerous members of the kingdom enjoy the wintery activity, even Dan got there eventually and after saying hello he was off helping Marc keep Anastasia balanced (which was a trick even without skates at times), while she nursed her twisted ankle.

The following Monday, Cinderella and Snow White joined Jenny as she stopped in at the Plaza Restaurant to visit her friend Tiana for a jambalaya cooking demonstration class. When Dan arrived just as they were finishing preparation with his only intentions being to drop off an order of baguettes, the poor man was kindly forced into joining them. He did seem to enjoy himself, even though he'd tried to tell them that he had alot to do for the bakery. And, really, Jenny couldn't place a time when Dan didn't just smile and go along with whatever he was being pulled to do. But his night with them ended as quickly as it began when they discovered he had an allergy to shrimp. Luckily the restaurant had supplies for just such an emergency, but Dan was sent home for bed-rest and Jenny ended up going to the bakery to inform Marc what had happened.

It almost felt like anytime she was getting pulled off, something bad would happen. And whenever something bad did happen, Dan would be there-either part of the problem or watching. Whatever stroke of luck it was, Jenny had gotten so tired of inciting scenarios that ended either on the floor or in pain that she actually started trying to avoid them.

The only things that ever stayed remotely calm were her early morning stops at the bakery. And it didn't take her long to realize that was simply because there were no royals involved in it in any way. But that didn't mean her mornings stayed the same. In fact, she hadn't been there in two days.

Luckily, Taryn had believed her when she'd said that she couldn't go to the sweetheart's ball because of other plans for the evening. It was a little wrong to make such a fib, but really she did have other plans. They just involved her home instead of other people.

By four o'clock, she'd actually turned it into a game in her mind-playing keep away from view as friends and acquaintances sporadically stopped by to see if she was home and would like to join them. It turned out to be such fun she'd nearly given herself away by giggling a number of times while she hid behind a corner or piece of furniture. She'd just finished eating a small dinner, noting fully that she really needed to go grocery shopping, when she heard yet another clamor of people coming down the street.

Quickly snuffing out the candle she'd been eating by, Jenny dropped to the ground and crawled to the dining room's bay window to peer out at the lamp-lit street. To her surprise she saw Dan coming down the street, heading for the Bakery probably, with Roger and Anita and a good five or six others in tow. Though, Dan looked less at ease and more harassed than Jenny had ever seen him.

"No, no," he was saying and from the edge in his voice Jenny suspected this was part of an ongoing defense. "I have far too much to do tonight."

"Put it off till tomorrow," one of his friends said jovially. "C'mon, mate, we're gonna get you a girl to dance with!"

"Really. I promise you, I can't go with you tonight," Dan said.

"Oh c'mon Danny!" a girl's voice said, almost whining. "You'll grow old and pruney faster if you don't learn to have fun!"

"Your version of fun and mine are entirely different, Miss Moss," Dan returned. "Thank you all for trying to persuade me, but I still have work to do."

"Work?!" Roger yelped in horror. "Still?"

"What do you need to do?" Anita's voice asked.

"I... need to deliver something," Dan said and Jenny could easily tell he was grasping at straws as he looked around the street.

"Oh really?" another one of his friends asked suspiciously. "What and to whom?"

By some serendipitous chance Dan's eyes met with Jenny's. Even though she knew she was barely visible and he was across the street, she was positive that he saw her.

"I don't know," Dan said slowly, taking his eyes away briefly to pull out a small square package just bigger than a deck of cards. "It's from Anastasia and Marc and its for Miss Doe."

A few of his friends made teasing noises, and Anita pointed out, "It doesn't look as though she's home, Dan."

But Dan turned his smile on them. "Then I'll leave it at the door. You don't have to wait for me."

This brought sighs of disappointment and bemused surrender, then a ripple of agreement before Dan jogged across the street. For a moment Jenny stayed where she was, briefly considering that she would stay hidden and once again pretend she wasn't home. But as Dan climbed her front steps, she heard one of his friends shout after him that they'd find a way to drag him to some party or another.

She met him at the door.

Opening the door slowly, she found him smiling at her. Holding a finger to his lips, they checked to make sure none of his friends were looking back, then she quickly waved him inside and closed the door quietly as possible behind him.

"You are a lifesaver," he informed her quietly, peaking out through the lace curtains of the living room window.

"It looked like you were having the same problem as me," she admitted, joining him to see his friends get to the end of Market Place. And, out of nerves, Jenny started giggling. Not because she was alone in the dark with Dan Bennett, but because of how neither had intended for this to happen. It was probably inappropriate and definitely could be viewed as a bad situation, but she couldn't help finding it hilarious.

Then he started chuckling too. Before they knew it, both were fighting to keep from laughing out-right as they crouched beneath the window.

After several moments, once their mirth had subsided a little, Dan sighed and pushed to his feet. "Well, I suppose I should find an alternate exit," he said. "You don't have a back access alley here, do you?"

Jenny shook her head as he helped her up too. Her neighborhood hadn't been set up to accommodate the influx of people owning their own automobiles or carriages. But then, really, the Empire's transportation system made it very easy to do without them.

Dan shrugged. "Ah well, it was worth a try," he said, then gave her a tentative glance. "Do you mind if I stay here a little while longer? Just to make sure they don't double back."

"You don't want to spend time with your friends?" Jenny asked, knowing it wasn't exactly a fair question since she was avoiding her's too.

He gave her a sheepish smile. "Oh I like spending time with them," he said. "I just don't really like going to these madhouse type parties. And this is the first night off I've had in weeks, I'd really rather just relax."

Jenny nodded in agreement, still watching his friends, who were now looking around in confusion. "Well, I wasn't planning on having guests," she said, turning her attention to him with a friendly smile. "But you're welcome to stay since you're trying to hide too."

"I don't want to intrude on your peace and quiet," Dan said cautiously.

"No, no, it's fine," Jenny assured him quickly. "Though you'll have to pretend that I'm not here along with me."

He chuckled again. "An interesting concept, but I think I can manage it."

Jenny elbowed him lightly as she caught a glimpse of his playful smirk. "Would you like some tea, Mr Bennett? Or hot chocolate?"

"Some hot chocolate sounds great," he said with a smile.

"Well then," Jenny said moving slowly as she blindly made her way to the dining room to retrieve her candle. "I'll just put a kettle on."

"Would you like me to switch on the lights?" Dan asked as she managed to light the wick.

"Oh gosh no," Jenny said, shielding her candle as she led the way to her kitchen, the only lit room in the house, with quick strides. "Then they'd know I'm home and I'd probably get dragged to the gala and forced to dance with every man that Taryn thinks is single and handsome."

Dan shuddered. "Then by all means, let's not turn on the lights."

Jenny giggled, knowing that her face was still red. Many things could happen in the dark, but after all the time she'd spent with him recently she also knew that Dan would never think of pressing that advantage. And for that she was grateful.

He followed her with a happy jaunt into the small (though very comfortable) kitchen. For being his first visit inside Miss Doe's house, albeit in a level of decreasing light, he couldn't help admiring her style. It was simple and clean, though in the front parlor there was an eclectic assortment of furniture that didn't really suit who she was.

The kitchen was especially suited to her, though. The walls were a pale yellow that reminded him of butter cookies with white built-in cabinets and shelves to the left and far end that framed either of the windows, one which looked out to the postage-stamp sized backyard and the other that looked over at the three foot gap between this house and its neighbor. To his right was a small table with two chairs that sat between two more cabinet pieces and the day's newspaper still open to the crossword puzzle on the table's top.

"I know," Jenny's voice pipped in, nearly scaring him enough to jump, but she gave him a cautious smile and looked at the corner cabinets' sparse shelves too. "I clearly don't have enough, but don't worry. Daisy Duck is determined to change that."

"No, no, it's fine," he said quickly. "I like-um-well, I'm more one for having something because it has a special meaning to it."

Jenny's eyes lit up and she gave him a relieved, though highly intrigued, smile. "Me too," she agreed. "That way I can spend time with my memories... well, what few I have."

He gave her a reassuring smile. "But we'll find the rest of them," he said. "You've already found a few more."

"True," she agreed with a smile, turning back to the pot of water as it whistled from the stove.

"Number twelve down is Clara Bell," he announced as she pulled out two mugs and some cocoa mix. "And... Number nine across is lemons."

She turned to find him squinting down at the day's newspaper and trying to figure out answers. "Really?" she asked, joining him once she'd poured water into each of the mugs. "Well, that explains why five is 'elementary' and twenty is 'chromium'. Thanks."

Dan looked up at her, both surprised and impressed. "Chromium. Well that explains why I couldn't finish it this morning. Then what's number forty-two?"

Jenny found herself giggling again as she placed the mugs on the table and soon they were huddled together across the table with the crossword puzzle between them. It turned into an evening of laughs as they tried to fit in answers. Crosswords turned into card games and then board games. Gentle teasing and soft bumping shoulders filled the night with even more laughter and Jenny couldn't have been happier.

~~°o°~~

"Well, I'm glad you're feeling better," Dan said over a puzzle that would eventually show a picture of the seaside. "But, if I had to guess, I think our royal friends have become bored with their busy schedules."

Still shaking her head from comparing her past week with Dan, Jenny laughed in agreement. "And they've decided you and I should be something."

"We are something," Dan said, and Jenny felt the color leave her face, but the man across from her merely put another puzzle piece into its place. "We're secretly onto them."

Jenny stared at him for a second, just until she could register the teasing smirk that came to his face, then made a face at him before she burst out laughing. "Yes, yes we are."

"Which will make their next few tries interesting," he said, grinning.

"Undoubtably."

"Oh, wow," Dan said, as he happened to glance at the clock. "Its nearly midnight. I should head home, since we both have work tomorrow."

"I suppose you're right," she said and gave him a smile as they both got to their feet. Pink-faced and bright-eyed from laughing, Jenny turned on more of the lights as she led the way back to the livingroom.

Dan followed her with a content smile, to him she looked even prettier.

"This was fun," Jenny said, stopping at the front door. "Thank you."

He gave her a bright smile back as he pulled on his coat. "Well thank you for saving me."

She giggled. "Thank you for needing to be saved."

The fact that his face was growing warm and he couldn't stop grinning like an idiot crossed his mind briefly, but it was quickly replaced by a surprising memory.

"What?" Jenny asked curiously, holding onto the door as though unsure if she should keep it open or shut it again.

"You remember that deal we made on the Boardwalk?" Dan asked.

She blinked at him blankly for a moment, then gave him a mischievous smile and nodded. "Something about you showing me that Valentine's Day here would be better than what happens at the Boardwalk."

"And if I lost, I'd take you to my favorite ice cream parlor every day you have off for the next month," Dan agreed. "Or, if I won, we'd go miniature golfing."

Jenny giggled again. "I don't think either of us won."

"But then neither of us lost," Dan pointed out.

A suspicious look crossed her face and she folded her arms. "I guess..."

"Just looks like we'll have to do both," Dan said with a nonchalant shrug as he stepped out onto the porch.

Jenny's face lit up with a bright blush as she stared at him while he went down the stairs, but when he turned to look back at her with a sly smile that she was growing to adore, she was smiling back. His smile turned into a grin and he started down the sidewalk with a happy little skip to his step.

And, biting her lower lip a little while she smiled, Jenny closed out the night behind him.

_**A/N:**__ Tada! *giggle* Yeah, this would be my kind of holiday :D_


	18. Chapter 18

Jenny was no stranger to nightmares. When she'd first gotten fished out of the water and brought to the Enchanted Castle (the name, she'd later learned, having come from the King's strange past), Jenny would wake up multiple times a night in a panicked sweat with her heart racing and her legs ready to run along with it. But over time, they'd slowly faded to one a night, then one a week, until they weren't there at all.

Maybe it had something to do with being in a place that still held some form of enchantment from its former days. Maybe she'd been able to block them by keeping her days so busy that she practically passed out when she got home. But, most likely, she was pretty sure that gaining the man whom was still called "The Beast" by many around the Empire as a guardian was enough assurance to her subconscious that nothing would be stupid enough to get her while she slept.

Somehow transferring to the Magic Kingdom didn't trigger anything, though Jenny had kept up a break-neck pace here as well, which supported her second theory. But it wasn't more than a week after Valentine's day that she found herself bolting from her bed as though it were on fire to shut herself away in the washroom, where she promptly tucked herself into a tight corner in the bathtub.

_What on earth was that?_ She thought after an un-calculated amount of time, when she finally reached a shaky hand forward to clutch the rim of the tub and pull herself upright.

It wasn't that she didn't understand what had happened, but waking up in terror and not remembering why was new.

Exhaustion quickly set in as the logical mind set shut the fear down like a light switch. As though someone unseen had come in and made it all evaporate in a cloud of dust, leaving Jenny to blink at herself as she stopped in front of the sink and mirror. She looked younger—years younger—this disheveled and not quite awake. But something in her reflection was off, it didn't ring any bells. Shouldn't she be able to remember waking from childhood nightmares? It didn't remind her of any other time before living with Belle and Adam that she'd been awake this late and staring at her self...

...With someone behind her?

She blinked and squinted at her reflection, her heart beating faster for a moment, but whatever she'd seen was gone. She glanced behind her, but there really wasn't all that much room in the space for another person to actually be standing behind her—not without knowing, anyway. The tired feeling fled as a new feeling of being watched sunk in and turned her blood cold.

But there was nothing there. And showing up for work half indisposed was probably the only thought that made her turn off the light and return to her bed.

A small chill ran up her spine, making her shiver a little before she curled beneath the warm blankets Daisy had provided. Had the room been this cold before?

Not that she minded, of course. She'd never been good at sleeping in warm temperatures, they always made the nightmares worse. The cooler air was... comforting... Like a protective hand on her shoulder as she faded away in hopes of better dreams.

~~°o°~~

By three weeks after, as Saint Patrick's Day grew steadily closer, the nightmares had worked themselves up to one every other week. Jenny kept the sleepless nights to herself and went through her days with something of a smile. She did fairly well, though being tired was becoming a constant state of being.

When the day the Irish loved best did actually come around, Jenny was given the day off as the royal family went to visit Charming's father in the countryside for a day. So she found herself at the bakery, blinking at a large steaming mug of tea that was cautiously being pushed into her line of view.

Looking up, she nearly bumped noses with Dan, making her jump back with a gasp. He jerked away in surprise as well, but quickly gave her an apologetic smile. "Sorry," he said. "I-uh-thought-you looked like you could use a cup of tea."

She gave him a smile and took hold of the cup. "Thank you, Mr Bennett," she said. "I'm sorry too, I... I just haven't been getting as much sleep as I used to."

Dan frowned a little in concern and glanced around the bakery. It really wasn't that busy today, seeing as a bakery wasn't exactly the focus for this particular holiday, so he hesitantly pulled out the chair across from her and sat down. "That doesn't sound good," he informed her. "Is there anything I can do?"

Jenny sighed and shook her head as she shrugged. "I don't know," she admitted. "It just... it feels like something...Something wrong is going to happen."

"Like what?"Dan asked.

She instantly regretted saying anything. She didn't know how to describe it. How was she supposed to tell him about her nightmares when she still couldn't remember much from them? Yes, lately she'd begun to at least remember some things-like an intense heat and suffocating humidity. And cackling-eerie and haunting cackling.

"Miss Doe?"

"What?" She asked quickly, pulling her attention back. Finding herself under Dan's intense gaze, she blushed and gave him a cheery smile. Why worry him more than she already had? "Sorry, its just the lack of sleep talking, I'm sure."

He wasn't believing it.

"So," she said quickly when she got the sense he was going to object. "Uh... I was thinking of going back to the Studios again on my next day off. Monday, actually."

"Really?" Dan asked, allowing the subject to change, but the look in his eyes let her know that their discussion about her sleeplessness wasn't over.

She gave him a warm smile. "Yes, would you want to join me again?"

He shifted a little in surprise, a faint amount of color coming to his cheeks. "I'd be honored," he said, then looked at her curiously. "Are we paying a visit to Morningside Orphanage?"

Jenny felt her face grow warmer as she nodded, he was coming to know her very well. "I think that little girl-Penny-she's the best clue I have to remembering who I am."

Dan nodded, giving her an encouraging smile. "It's the best lead I can think of."

She sighed, somehow feeling relieved that he would join her. Which was strange and placed a twinge of fear in her stomach, but his excited smile helped her push it away. "Well, it sounds like a plan," she said after a moment. "Thank you for the tea, Mr. Bennett. I don't want to keep you from your work."

"Right," Dan said, almost jumping up as he turned to look back at the counter. "Yes, thank you-I mean, you're welcome, Miss Doe."

Jenny fought back a laugh, giving him a bright smile even though she was tired.

He seemed to relax a little at the sigh of it and his own smile came in stronger as he gave her a small bow. "I will meet you at the Monorail on Monday, then? Same time?"

She nodded. "Sounds perfect."

"Great," Dan said as he awkwardly backed away, seeming almost as though he was trying to find reasons to stay. "Yes. Right. Uh-."

"Dan? Counter!" his cousin's voice called from the back of the bakery.

"Right," Dan said almost too loudly and nearly backed into a table. Jenny actually had to bite her lips together to keep from laughing, but his smile made her grin as she watched him quickly dart back to the counter and attend their newest customer. There was something different about Dan Bennett, she didn't know what and she was scared that if she thought about it too long it would fall apart. But something about him felt like a strange form of gravity.

Hopefully her heart was pointing the right way, Jenny thought as she sipped her tea, because right now something in the back of her mind told her she was putting him in danger.

~~°o°~~

Jenny was practically sprinting through the servants' quarters the next morning. The castle's servants easily dodged her, turning to smirk as the young woman ran.

She'd never been so late before. Not even while-. Her thoughts cut off as she nearly passed Cinderella's private parlor and had to double back a few steps to get in the doorway.

The queen was seated comfortably on the couch reading through one of Dorian's science books as she sipped her morning coffee. She glanced up with a smirk as Jenny tried to catch her breath.

"Good morning," Cinderella greeted, setting down her coffee to pour another cup. "You had a good St Patrick's day, then?"

"I am so sorry, your majesty!" Jenny gasped, sinking into the Louis XIV armchair across from her employer. "I entirely forgot the time and the day and I didn't sleep w-."

Cinderella chucked, passing Jenny the second cup. "It happens to the best of us," she assured the younger girl. "No harm done-its not as though anything overly important was happening today."

"But I'm never late," Jenny objected, woefully staring into her cup. "I've never been so late in my life-not for anything! Not even when I was working at that summer camp."

"What?" The queen stared at her in surprise.

A blush came to Jenny's cheeks and she quickly tried to think over everything she'd said. "Um... I've never been this late before?"

"Jenny," Cinderella said slowly, still looking at the young woman with a mixture of hope and curiosity. "You just said you'd worked at a camp."

"I did?" Jenny wracked her brain and, truth be told, it was giving her something of a headache. "...I did."

"Do you remember where?" Cinderella pressed. "What it was called?"

She closed her eyes to think, rubbing her temple in hopes of dulling the headache. But eventually she shook her head. "I can't remember," she said, her large blue eyes finding the queen's. "Just that it was a camp-and very humid."

Cinderella's gaze narrowed thoughtfully. "Well," she said after a few moments. "I know of several camps in the Empire. Only a few where it gets really humid... Perhaps I'll put a call in to Jane."

Jenny looked up. She was well acquainted with Jane Porter-she was the first one to spot Jenny in distress. Ever since her rescue, Jane had taken it up as her duty to find out what Jenny's past was. So far she'd had no success-and now, for some reason, Jenny almost preferred it that way.

Before she could say anything, Cinderella had already dialed out to the castle operator and requested she get a-hold of Jane. Then she glanced at the clock with a smile.

"Well, on with duties," she said, getting up and brushing off her skirt.

"Oh," Jenny gasped and set down her cup. "Right. Of course, I-."

"Not you," Cinderella said in a tone both gentle and firm. "You can sit here and rest-I'll be right back."

"But-."

"I'm just saying hello to the guests who are enjoying Charming's restaurant," Cinderella assured her, smirking at the thought. "Really, there are reasons to worry when he and Fairy Godmother put their heads together..."

And with that, the slipper queen slipped from the room, leaving Jenny alone with her thoughts and a still untouched cup of coffee.

~~°o°~~

Not much had changed when Cinderella returned, giggling to herself over a young guest's enthusiasm for science. Somehow she'd gotten a magazine about ancient sea monsters out of it. Grinning, she set it down on the end-table before looking up.

"Jenny?"

But the girl was nowhere to be seen. Poking her head into the hall again, Cinderella called to one of the sentries on patrol. "Don? Have you seen Jenny?"

The man looked at his queen quizzically for a moment, knowing the woman was good at losing shoes and wonder if she'd managed to lose a whole person, then remembered seeing the girl with strawberry curls about half an hour ago. "Yes, m'lady," he said, gesturing down the hall. "She went that way, I believe."

Cinderella smiled and thanked the man, before hiking her skirts a little and taking off in that direction as well.

A few moments of brisk walking later, Cinderella nearly laughed when she finally found her quarry. Jenny Doe was mixing away in the royal family's private kitchen while the delicious aroma of cookies filled the air.

Jenny looked almost like she was functioning on autopilot-like an android from Tomorrowland rather than a living girl. Even down to checking on the cookie trays in the oven.

"Smells wonderful," Cinderella commented, joining Jenny at the island counter.

With a yelp of surprise, the cookie tray when flying. Sending snickerdoodle cookies across the floor, where they were pounced on by the large white cat who'd been watching Jenny's antics with interest.

"Oh!" Jenny gasped, looking distressed as she sank down to go after the cookies. "Oh no, I'm sorry! I didn't know you were there."

"It's alright," Cinderella assured her with a smile. "Here, let me help."

"But you're-."

"Helping," Cinderella told her firmly as she set about collecting cookies from the floor.

She hesitated a moment, as she watched the queen acting on her motherly instincts, but Jenny leaned back against the cupboard doors, blinking rapidly to clear the sudden cloudiness that had filled her vision. "Oh goodness," she said in a sigh. "Its hopeless, isn't it."

Cinderella looked up curiously as she set the last of the fallen cookies into the pile on the tray. "What are you talking about?"

Jenny took a moment, taking a calming breath or two and gaze upward at the window to the blue sky. Then gave Cinderella a tired smile. "Nothing," she said calmly even though she felt like her life was slowly turning itself into a tornado. "Just silliness, I guess."

The queen frowned a little, clearly not believing that everything was fine, but Jenny was already getting back to her feet with the tray of ruined cookies in her hands.

"You know," Cinderella said slowly. "Aurora and I have been talking about taking our families on vacation at the Grand Floridian in April. Dorian will be on holiday from his courses and the weather will be warm without being horrible."

"That sounds wonderful," Jenny said, her back to the young queen as she dumped the cookies in the bin. The idea of having a week off, at the moment with such a need for sleep and relaxation, sounded like a very nice idea. Maybe she'd even take her own vacation. The Pop Century resort might be within her price range...

"Doesn't it?" Cinderella was saying, having turned on the sink to start washing the bowls and spoons. "I think you'll enjoy the pianists that play in the parlor-you always seem so at peace when you're listening to music."

Jenny nearly dropped the tray. "What?"

A delighted smile was on the queen's face when she looked back at her secretary again. "Oh, well Charming and I thought it'd be nice for you to join us," she said, turning off the water and drying her hands. "After all, what's the fun of working for a crown if you don't get something fun out of it?"

Her mouth fell open and she stared at the blonde. They were willing to take her on such an expensive vacation? The Grand Floridian was the most prestigious resort in the entire empire and so expensive that Jenny doubted she'd ever stay there on her salary.

"You won't have to do any work," Cinderella assured her, seizing her hands excitedly. "Why—even Anastasia and Marc might join us! It will just be relaxing fun with friends."

It felt like her mind had stopped processing how to make words. A real vacation?

"Umm." Cinderella watched her with a slowly growing expression of anxiety. "What do you think? Would you like to? You don't have to if-."

Jenny shook herself out of her shock and smiled. "Yes!" she gasped. "No, I'd love to. When are we going?"

Cinderella's bright smile came back instantly. "We'll be leaving on the twelfth at around noon," she said, linking arms with Jenny to return to the island counter. "And we'll stay there until the twenty-second. So a little more than a week."

The queen went on to describe more of what they'd scheduled already and Jenny listened quietly. She couldn't really focus on much else as they nibbled at the cookies she'd made. She couldn't wait to tell Dan, though. With news like this, there was no way she'd still have nightmares.

~~°o°~~

When Jenny's day off rolled around, though she was happily having a peaceful visit to the Hollywood Studios with Dan, back at the castle Cinderella was holding a conspiratorial tea.

"So..." Aurora said slowly, placing her rose-colored cup in its saucer as she looked at the slipper queen with a cross of awe and bewilderment. "When did you come up with the idea of a vacation, exactly?"

"I know," Cinderella groaned, leaning into her hand, even though it was probably the most unlady-like thing she could do. "Charming will murder me when I tell him."

"You're actually going to tell him?" Ariel squeaked from across the table, her green eyes large.

"Well, I'll have to tell him something if we're actually going to go on vacation," Cinderella said.

"Wait," Jasmine said slowly.

"So you mean he doesn't even know about the vacation?" Meg asked, then shook her head and laughed. "Oh you're in deep, Cindy."

"I know," the queen groaned again.

"Well, maybe it'll take him a while to figure it all out," Snow White offered, but even she didn't sound convinced.

Ariel, though, was looking pensive. "It might work, though," she said after a moment, then slowly smiled at her fellow queens. "Think about it, it's a vacation! Its meant to be relaxing. Love works best when your at ease!"

Both Jasmine and Meg gave the redhead a skeptical look, but Aurora gave her a smile then looked to Cinderella again. "Either way, with both of us there we can make sure everything goes smoothly."

"Its worth a shot, I guess," Cinderella said with a sigh, very happy that her friends were standing by her rash decision. "If nothing else, I'm glad I can bring her along anyway. She's really the best help I've had-including Prudence."

The other queens hummed and nodded in agreement, each taking a sip of their tea. Snow was the first to replace her glass, though. "And I hear that Victoria & Albert's is one of the best restaurants around!"

"Oh, I've heard that too," Ariel chirped, her cup clinking lightly against its dish. "I'd join you," she said, looking to Aurora and Cinderella, "but I'll be a little preoccupied at that point."

"Why?" Jasmine asked suspiciously.

"Oh!" Ariel said, beaming at the women. "Well, you see, I-."

"What on earth do you think you're doing!"

Ariel's news was dropped from her lips as everyone jumped to look at their newest arrival. Queen Belle, still cloaked and her hair wind-blown from its ribbon, looked about ready to commit murder herself with the rage burning in her eyes. Beyond her, Cinderella craned to see, was their rather harrassed head of household, Bensen, looking back and forth between his queen and their newest guest.

Cinderella nodded to him and the manservant quickly collected himself. "I present, her majesty, Queen Belle."

"Thank you, Bensen," Cinderella said, giving him a reassuring smile as she rose to greet the brunette.

Bensen quickly bowed out, closing the door behind himself.

"Its good to see you, Belle," Cinderella said with a smile.

"Answer the question," the queen demanded, not to be deterred.

The other queens exchanged glances. "Well," Ariel said slowly, not hiding her confusion. "I was announcing that Eric and I are expecting an addition to our family."

"Are you?" Meg asked, looking to avoid the confrontation for at least a little longer. "Congratulations!"

"Thank you!" Ariel said, brightening again instantly. "Eric says he doesn't care what it is, so long as it's healthy, but I think this one's going to finally be a boy."

"Usually the mother knows better, right?" Meg said.

Ariel giggled and shrugged. Snow smiled and gave her hand a squeeze. But Belle wasn't putting up with it.

"Jenny!" the brunette snapped. "What are you doing to her!?"

"What are you talking about?" Jasmine asked innocently.

Belle glared at her. "I've been to see my father," she reported. "He's told me that Jenny's been distracted and over tired. And getting hurt?"

"What makes you think that has anything to do with us?" Jasmine countered, though the others looked mildly guilty.

"My husband's not as good a secret keeper as you all seem to think," she nearly growled. "And it doesn't take a genius to notice that Dan Bennett has been at each location as a witness."

The Arabian queen didn't have a response. Clearly they'd been caught. And so early-on too.

"Will you all just stop it?" she demanded. "Has it occurred to any of you that you're not fairies? Or matchmakers? or that you have nothing to do with Jenny's personal life-whatsoever?!"

"We're just trying to bring her the happiness that comes with love," Aurora defended sweetly with a sheepish blush on her cheeks.

"We wanted to help her create a home," Cinderella said calmly.

Belle sighed, and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Trust me, I understand that feeling. But have any of you thought about why she-in particular-should not be your toy?" Belle asked, folding her arms and frowning at the embarrassed expressions around her. "Did you all forget that she can't remember who she is? She could already have a true love out there. She could have some one finding his way to her right now! And you're trying to force her into a relationship with Mr Bennett?"

"We hadn't thought about that," Snow White admitted looking absolutely heartbroken at the idea.

"Clearly," Belle agreed, her tone coming back down.

"You know we wouldn't do anything to hurt her," Cinderella said.

"Its not only her that you have to worry about hurting," Belle said, sounding tired. "If she _does_ have someone already, how do you think Dan Bennett will feel if a memory like that comes back?"

_**A/N:**__ A long chapter, but I couldn't figure out where to chop it. It's probably awful too. Sorry, wicked tired at the moment, just cleaned the house practically top to bottom after a full day of work, and the hay-fever's stopped in. Yay. Lol_


	19. Chapter 19

As she'd guessed, though refused to focus on (in fear that thinking about them would bring them back), Jenny's nightmares practically vanished as the next few days flew by and the holidays tied to Easter quickly approached. Cinderella's enthusiasm for their vacation was contagious and Jenny couldn't help feeling excited. Especially as the queen's days shifted to spending afternoons running errands and going shopping with either Queen Aurora or Anastasia—or both.

It was two days until Mardi Gras when Jenny found herself in a little dress shop in Liberty Square where she, Aurora, and Cinderella were trying to help Anastasia purchase pieces for a more flattering wardrobe. It was more the queens who were working with fashions, since Jenny was still perfectly content with the style she wore. But she agreed that Anastasia needed the self-confidence boost. So instead of getting in the way, she wandered around the shop, looking at the brightly colored frocks with amusement.

She'd rounded the strange array of purple-feathery gowns when she collided with yet another friend. "Tiana!"

The young waitress looked up as they steadied each other and Jenny was pleased to see that her friend was practically beaming. "Jenny! Hi!"

"Hi," Jenny returned with a giggle. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to find Mama," Tiana said, attempting to pull one of her unruly curls back into place under her bell-hat. "Guess what!"

"What?" Jenny asked, blinking at the girl's excitement.

"I did it!" she announced, so close to squealing in delight that her voice was only just loud enough to hear.

"Did what?" Jenny asked, trying to think of something her friend would so wound up about.

Tiana's eyes glittered as she gripped Jenny's arms. "My restaurant!" she squeaked. "I've made enough to get my restaurant!"

Jenny gasped and was smiling just as brightly as she was pulled into a hug. "Oh that's wonderful!" she cried out. "How?"

"Lottie," Tiana said, letting the hug drop so they wouldn't be shouting into each other's ears. "She came into work today and asked me to make some of my benyas for her Mardi Gras Masquerade ball tomorrow! And she's payin me exactly what I needed!"

The two young women shared in elated laughter. "Oh I'm so happy for you!" Jenny said, grinning. "Let me know if you need any help getting started."

"Thank you," Tiana said, placing a hand on her collar—a motion she did often, though Jenny had failed to ask why. "Are you coming to Lottie's ball tomorrow?"

"Oh, I think so," Jenny said. "At least, I'm sure Mara and Taryn have made definite plans for us to go together."

"Good!" Tiana said, smiling in relief. "From the sounda things, it's definitely gonna be one wild party-Lottie's invited that visiting Prince to stay at her house."

"Really?" Jenny asked, her eyebrows rising, though she didn't really know why it surprised her.

Tiana giggled. "Yeah, I'll bet she's got the wedding already planned out too."

"No doubt," Jenny agreed, chuckling a little as she closed her eyes and shook her head.

When she looked up again, Tiana was giving her an analyzing look that made Jenny frown in confusion. "What?"

"Nothin," Tiana said after a moment, though she still seemed to be searching Jenny's face for something. "How've you been, anyway? Everythin' ok?"

"Yes, everything's fine," Jenny said, looking at her curiously. "Busy, but fine."

Tiana gave her another smile, that pushed away what little Jenny had been able to read off her features. "Good to hear."

"Jenny?" Cinderella asked, making her way distractedly across the store with continual glances to the dressing room. "Anastasia's gotten it into her head that she looks awful in every-Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to—."

"No, no, it's alright," Jenny said quickly, smiling at the queen. "This is my friend Tiana Belwood."

Cinderella gave the younger woman a warm smile "It's a pleasure to meet you," she said. "I remember you from that cooking bit at the Plaza."

"Yes, ma'am," Tiana said, blushing bright pink.

"Oh, please, call me Cinderella," the queen said. "You really are a talented cook!"

"She's just about to start her own restaurant," Jenny supplied, grinning at her friend, which only made Tiana blush more.

Cinderella looked impressed. "Congratulations! I look forward to the grand opening."

"Thank you, your majesty," Tiana said, smiling brightly

The queen smiled, avoiding shaking her head, and gestured towards the dressing room. "Perhaps together you two can help us convince Anastasia," she said. "And I'd love to hear more about your restaurant.

Jenny saw her friend brighten even more at the idea, but a quick glance at the wall clock over the register made her gasp. "OH! I have to go! I'm meeting Mr Fritter and Mr Fritter at the sugar mill in twenty minutes."

"The sugar mill?" Cinderella repeated.

"She's going to renovate it," Jenny said.

"Oh," the queen said thoughtfully. "Well, then we don't want you to be late!"

Jenny smiled and nodded in agreement. "I can't wait to see it!"

"Thank you! Tell Mama for me, would you?" Tiana asked over her shoulder as she darted towards the exit.

"Of course," Jenny called after her, and with that the young woman took off into the early spring sunlight.

"Well," Cinderella said after a moment, bringing Jenny's attention back only to find the queen looking at her and for a brief second she could have sworn she was wearing the same strange expression Tiana had. "Do you think you'll be able to help Anastasia?"

Jenny smiled and nodded. "Of course," she said. "Or, at least, I'll try."

Cinderella smiled and draped an arm around her shoulders. "That is more than enough."

~~°o°~~

Somehow, though Jenny couldn't fully understand how, after passing Tiana's good news along to Eudora, she'd been the one who got Anastasia to actually smile at her reflection. And soon her friend had emerged from the small changing room and was twirling at the end of the enclosed hallway in front of a trio of mirrors.

Soon Anastasia was twisting back and forth in front of the mirrors in the third dress she'd grown attached to. Pleased with the progress, the two queens headed out into the shop for some reason Jenny couldn't remember. Jenny herself was leaning against the hall's wall and feeling a little disoriented. Not that she was going to say anything.

Anastasia's uncertain frown of thought broke as she caught sight of her friend, though, and the redhead turned around. "Are you alright, Jenny?"

"Oh, yes," she said, lightly clasping a hand to her forehead for a moment. "Just a little light headed."

"You look a little peaked," Anastasia agreed, a new thoughtful frown coming to her face. "You've looked over-tired all morning, actually."

Jenny gave her a reassuring smile. "It must be all the shopping."

The half-joking comment made Anastasia smile and look back at her reflection again. Jenny closed her eyes for a moment against the strange feeling only to find Anastasia was back in the changing room again when she opened them.

"You're sure you're alright?" Anastasia asked when she reemerged with her final two choices in her arms.

"I'm fine," Jenny said with a little bit of a laugh as she followed her friend back into the store.

"You don't look alright," Anastasia commented.

"Really, Ana-I'm fine," Jenny said, but she was beginning to think she wasn't as convincing as she'd thought. Especially when returning to the store earned her concerned glances from both of the queens.

Jenny kept herself stationed by the small space of wall by the entrance, leaning against the cool wood was something of a relief. She wasn't sure how long it had taken them, but soon they were all back out in the cold early spring air. Jenny cast a wistful glance towards Market Place, spotting the yellow of her house not far away.

"I hope none of you mind," Cinderella's voice drew her back. "But do you suppose we could call it a day? I promised Dorian I'd watch him ride today."

Aurora and Anastasia exchanged glances. "By all means," the long-haired queen said with a smile. "I wanted to spend some time with Odette, anyway."

"Marc probably needs help at the bakery," Anastasia voiced.

Cinderella's eyes fell on Jenny. "You know, since I'm only going back to the castle—and Aurora's coming with me," she said slowly. "It makes no sense for you to come all the way up to the castle just to return down here."

Jenny's eyes flickered up to the queen's as she caught on to what she was saying and the younger woman straightened her stance. She was ready to argue, to fight that she was fine, but somehow—maybe because the world looked like it was starting to spin around her—she sighed and nodded, giving them a small smile. "Thank you," she said, then took one of Anastasia's bags in her hands. "This way I can help Anastasia get everything home."

~~°o°~~

It was the day after the shopping trip and the early spring rains had started their ritual of greening up the empire, but Jenny was home, having fallen asleep soon after she'd gotten there that afternoon and slept until ten. Luckily the queen had given her an extra day off for some reason she couldn't fathom. Not that Jenny had been all that willing to argue when it felt like the world was tipping over, but still it was strange to have an extra day off.

Even being under the weather, Jenny refused to let herself stay in her night gown or in bed all day. Though she was sure it was just a dizziness and fever from allergies or something, which she didn't really consider being "under the weather". Or maybe it was just all that lack of sleep from before catching up with her now that she could sleep again. Whatever the case, by eleven, she'd managed to get down to the living room, where she'd paused to sit on the sofa for a moment before she began trying to focus enough to get to the kitchen.

An hour later found her still trying to convince herself that she needed to get something to eat when there was a knock on her door. Groaning as she noticed her door still being locked, she finally pushed to her feet again and quickly gripped her rocking chair for what little stability it could provide. Then she opened the door.

"Oh, hello, Dan," she said, blinking at the tall man on her front stoop. "I mean, Mr Bennett, how are you?"

Dan gave her a smile, though he seemed to be watching her with caution. "I am very well, thank you," he said. "How are you, Miss Doe?"

"Me? Oh, I'm fine," she said, trying not to acknowledge how unsteady she felt. "Just a little off, maybe."

He hummed in agreement, reaching out to help keep her upright. "Perhaps you'd be better on the sofa, then?"

"Perhaps," Jenny agreed, really wishing that wasn't the case.

In no time at all she found herself back on the sofa, now with her feet up and her head back against a pillow. Even laying there, the world felt like it was floating, but at least a little less now. And she was able to notice something. Dan had closed the door to shut out the rain, then gotten her settled and propped up comfortably with a blanket on top-all with something rather large under his arm.

She squinted at him. "What's that?"

He glanced down at the paper bag he held and gave her a smile. "A 'get well' gift from Anastasia," he said happily, setting the bag on the coffee table trunk. "Some soup, cheese, and fresh bread."

"Anastasia cooks?" Jenny asked, aware enough to be incredulous.

"Well, she had some help," Dan admitted. Jenny smiled at him, fairly sure he must have helped in some way.

"Thank you," she said.

"You're welcome," he responded.

Jenny watched him from her spot on the sofa with a slight awe. She was fairly sure this was considered uncommon-a man running around to set up a meal as a woman stayed on the couch. Even at Belle and Adam's chateau, if Belle or Mrs Potts was ill the men didn't know what to do. But, for some reason, Jenny had the feeling that there'd been very few times in her life that her mother had been the one taking care of her. She was almost sure she remembered a man always being there. But it wasn't her father...

"Here you go," Dan said, returning with a tea tray set up with bowls of soup and several slices of grilled cheese sandwiches. Then he sat in the nearby rocking chair to look at her curiously. "Who's Winston?"

"Hmm?" Jenny looked up at him curiously.

"You said the name 'Winston'," he clarified, giving her a quirky, bemused smile. "Are you remembering more?"

Jenny blinked at him. She couldn't even remember saying the name "Winston" let alone why. If nothing else, her mind was more jumbled than usual. "I don't think so," she said after a moment or two. "But I'll let you know."

Dan gave her another smile then settled himself to rocking, which only lasted a few moments before he noticed her eyelids were getting heavy. "Would you like me to go? You should get some rest."

Jenny's eyes snapped open again and she shook her head. "I'm fine," she promised and got herself to sit upright, smiling at the picnic style lunch he'd spread out on her trunk. "It looks wonderful."

Dan smiled again and the two set into a quiet lunch that more so involved him moving to sit on the couch next to her so as to better helping her stay upright more than eating.

~~°o°~~

A short while later, after half a bowl of soup and three quarters of the grilled cheese sandwich, Jenny gave up and sank back into the strangely shaped couch to leave Dan the rest. It didn't take him long to eat his own sandwich, then he hurried off to the kitchen to put things away so that she'd have the food for tomorrow (since he highly doubted she'd be going to work).

He was glad he did, though, as he was horrified to find the fridge consisted of half a pint of milk, five eggs, one stick of butter, a small bag of carrots, half a bottle of apple juice, an avocado, and twelve slices of cheese. Fighting a nosey impulse, he didn't look into anywhere else and simply deposited the remaining soup and sandwiches onto an empty fridge shelf. Then returned to the living room to find Jenny curled around the armrest, watching for him with her large blue eyes. He felt the blush rise in his cheeks.

"You hum when you're doing things," she informed him.

"Uh." He blinked, caught off guard. But he smiled, thankfully. "Do I?"

She closed her eyes to nod, taking a little longer to open them again. "I don't know the song though," she said. "Couldn't hear the end of it."

"Oh." Dan tried to think about humming, but he'd been completely unaware that he had been. "You hum too," he said, coming to kneel next to her so that she didn't have to look upward. "When you're nervous."

Jenny gave him a sleepy smile. "How d'you know that?"

He smiled back. "You're usually humming when I come across you."

She gave a tired giggle. "That, Mr Bennett, is because you have impeccable timing."

In truth, half the times she'd been humming was after he'd say hello. But that was getting less and less now, even at monorail station the other day she'd stopped humming to smile at him instead. Assuring him that she was slowly growing more comfortable with him. Now, of course, his presence was keeping her awake when she needed sleep. Which probably needed to be remedied.

"You should rest," he said again.

Jenny fervently shook her head, determined not to be rude to a guest. "No," she said, attempting to fight a yawn. "I'm f-fine. Really."

Dan gave her a disbelieving smile, then got to his feet. She watched him curiously, half worried that he was going to leave anyway, as he crossed the small room to her standing radio. A moment or two of fluttering static passed before soothing sounds of mellow jazz came pouring over the speakers.

Jenny smiled at him, but gave him a suspicious look. "You're _trying_ to get me to fall asleep!"

"Indeed, I am," he said with determination. "C'mon, let's untangle you from the armrest so you don't feel it when you wake up."

Jenny groaned in protest, but Dan had gotten her comfortably draped across the far too cushioned couch in what felt like no time at all. Granted, in real time, Dan had hesitated when the feel of butterflies entered his stomach as he moved to carry her knees up to the sofa, then again while trying to adjust her as his hands felt like they had electricity flowing through them. He'd just barely managed to get a pillow under her head when her hand reached up to take his before he could move away.

The smile she gave him made his knees go and he found himself sitting on the couch carefully close to her side. Suddenly he understood what his mother said when he was little, how she could see fever in someone's eyes. Jenny's blue eyes were glassy and a little vacant, as though there was more distance then inches between them.

"Thank you, Dan," she said softly, as her eyes flickered closed. "For staying."

He hesitated, wondering what to say. What exactly was he supposed to do right now? Was there a handbook for this situation somewhere?

When her eyes opened to look at him again, waiting for an answer, he found himself saying, "I'm never leaving."

It brought a smile to her face, albeit a smaller one, but within seconds she'd fallen asleep with her hand still in his. Making his heart beat wildly.

His next action made Dan wonder whether he was actually in control of himself at all. He pulled a knitted throw-blanket from where it hung over the back of the sofa and draped it over her, tucking it snugly around her, then kissed her cheek.

~~°o°~~

Jenny woke up early the next morning, around 4:30 AM, shaking in a cold sweat, gasping for breath and water even though she felt as though she couldn't ingest anything at the moment be it water or otherwise. It actually took her a few minutes to realize where she was, too. For some reason she'd been under the impression she was... well... she wasn't sure. In a jungle somewhere, running for her life from an erie cackle and explosions that seemed to follow her. But here she was safe. Safe in the warmth of her home on Market Place.

Her hand shook as she reached for the lamp that should have been on the nightstand, but she nearly fell from where she'd slept in an attempt to find it. Which, of course, brought on another flare of panic until her eyes adjusted enough to recognize the exact room she was in. It wasn't her bedroom, but she nearly laughed as she dropped back onto the pillows.

She was in the living room. What on earth was she doing in the living room? And still in her day-clothes? Never mind why she was cacooned within a half dozen blankets.

With this new insight, Jenny reached towards the end-table above her head, but as her hand touched the base of the lamp, she stopped. Her heart started racing, but with a different urgency as she stared at what she could see of the figure nearby.

Dan Bennett was asleep in the rocking chair. His head was lolled to one side and she could hear him snoring softly. Slowly she smiled at him, finding him strangely adorable in his peace. Though, really, he was going to be in quite a bit of pain when he'd finally wake up, judging by how he was posed.

_But why was he here?_

Jenny moved, pushing off the heavy blankets to swing her feet to the floor, and instantly she remembered why she was there when the air on her ankles made her shiver. She'd been ill, fighting a fever which must have started breaking and woken her, and Dan had come over with soup.

Hadn't that been around noon?... Or had that been dinner time? Either way, now it was ridiculously late... and he'd stayed with her.

She might have blushed if she hadn't felt so drained. Instead she focused on opening the trunk-table and pulling another fresh blanket from its depths, which she gently wrapped around him. Then she pulled another throw pillow out to quickly tuck it behind his lower back.

He stirred a little, but continued to sleep. She couldn't help smiling at him as his hand unconsciously caught hers while she moved back to the sofa. She thought of pulling her hand free, but as soon as she'd tucked her legs up under the blankets again, she quickly nodded off.

_**A/N:**__ Well, if you can't figure out who Jenny is now, you might need to go back and watch certain Disney movies again lol But I've put alot of twists into her past, which are going to come to light soon enough... Too bad the poor thing's gotten ill because of all those nightmares though..._


	20. Chapter 20

When she woke up again, it was a much more decent hour, maybe closer to ten in the morning again. Which was actually very late by her standards, but she was too comfortable on the plush sofa and her mind was too groggy from the receding fever to care.

One thing did catch her attention, though. Dan wasn't in the rocking chair. Or anywhere else in the room. The blanket she'd tucked around him was folded neatly atop the trunk in front of her and the throw-pillow had found its way tucked behind her head. She frowned. Had she dreamed the whole thing? She had been fighting a fever after all.

Sighing, and surprised at how much she was disappointed, Jenny pulled the bottom layers of the blanket pile to wrap around herself as she stood and made her way upstairs to wash and dress.

By the time she returned to the main floor, dressed in her hand-me-down green dress from Belle, Jenny was finally feeling better. She still had a funny feeling in her lungs and a continual dizziness left over from the fever, but it was much better than yesterday. At least now she could think more clearly. Which left her open to consider what little she could remember of the nightmare she'd woken up to before.

A jungle. A jungle and cackling and running for her life. Maybe she'd just been dreaming of a movie she'd seen at the cinema. But that couldn't be right either.

"Whoops!"

"Careful, there."

Jenny looked up to stare at the warm smile that waited for her.

Dan's eyes were sparkling. "You look like you're feeling better, Miss Doe."

"A bit," she said. Her cheeks flared with warmth and an additional dizziness joined her head, but she smiled at him. "Were you here the whole time?"

His smile grew sheepish. "Most of it," he said and started guiding her towards the kitchen. "I suppose you woke up when I stepped out to get us supplies."

"Supplies?" she repeated.

"For breakfast."

"Oh." She thought on it for a minute, then her eyes went wide at what that meant-he'd seen the poor selection of food in her fridge. "Oh! Oh dear. You didn't have t-."

"Don't think about it," he said as he pulled out the kitchen chair for her.

Jenny was taken by surprise as she turned to see the wonderfully quaint feast he'd thrown together. The table had two glasses of orange juice, two plates with two small mouse-shapped pancakes on each, and two small bowls of fruit. A delicate crystal creamer was now filled with warmed maple syrup next to the small butter dish in the table's center. A sprig of wild flowers almost smiled at her from a tall glass against the wall.

She cast him a suspicious smirk, but sat down. Dan gave her a smile and turned towards the stove.

"Oh," she said quickly as she spread her napkin across her lap. "I don't drink coffee, thank you, though."

Dan chuckled. "I know," he said, returning with two mugs anyway. "You may not take coffee, but I certainly do. So I've made you tea."

Jenny found herself giggling at him as he smiled broadly at her from across the table. "Thank you, Mr Bennett," she said. "You may have outdone yourself."

"I should hope not," Dan said, sipping his coffee.

She watched him a moment longer, then smiled into her own steaming mug. "Thank you," she said after a sip. "For...uh...looking after me."

He looked up, analyzing her for a moment as she blushed and busied herself with her breakfast, but eventually he gave her a sly smile. "Well, I didn't have anywhere to be just then," he said. "Mardi Gras is usually a forgotten holiday for me."

A smile of relief spread across Jenny's face, though her blush remained strong. That is, until she realized what he'd said. "Mardi Gras?" she repeated, staring at him now. "Yesterday was Mardi Gras?"

Dan's smile changed, growing bemused. "No, actually today is Mardi Gras."

The fact that it felt like all the blood had drained out of her head probably had something to do with the room starting to spin. Jenny gripped the cool tabletop. "But... But I was supposed to go to Lottie's party," she said, feeling like her brain was doing cartwheels. "I have to..."

"No, no, I'll contact Miss Labouf," Dan assured her, gripping her upper arm as she tried to get up. "You sit here and have your breakfast, Miss Doe."

Jenny looked up at him again. "But Tiana-."

"I'll contact her as well," he said.

She was sure that she was blushing and there were a whole host of reasons she should just get back into the day, but even with a few more feeble attempts at defending herself, Jenny slowly gave up and let herself enjoy breakfast.

~~°o°~~

"Before you say anything, I have to say-this was not my fault!"

Narrowed eyes that glowed a sickly yellow around their green irises focused solely on the being standing in front of the dais. His hair was strangely spiky, looking more as though it was made of tar-infused feathers than actual hair, and his eyes equally yellow against the disturbingly grey skin. His bone structure was strange as well, though most of his body was hidden by a long black trench coat. His nose was near flattened to make him almost look related to the set of eerie shadow horses he commanded. Nothing about this man bespoke the human life he'd had hundreds of years ago.

"It was that acursed queen stepping in!" he growled, his long and narrow hands clenching into fists. Behind him several of his nightmares bucked and whinnied in agreement.

Across from them, upon a decrepit throne that resinated darkness, an equally tall woman glared at the near incompetent fool in front of her. Once upon a time the woman's sharp features and elevated cheekbones might have been considered an exotic type beauty, but years of hatred and ill will had created a dangerous green tint to her skin that could freeze one's heart before they could recognize any form of beauty.

"Silence," she commanded, her voice resonating through the hall.

Both the man and the horses balked at the sound, but nervously followed her direction.

"I know whose fault it was," she continued, rising and letting her billowing robes trail behind her as she descended the steps with mild help from her magical scepter. It had taken more time and magic than she'd expected to reform her physical appearance after that infuriating prince had attempted to kill her, but after ten years of tedious work she was nearly back to full strength. "Clearly your abilities to strike fear into the girl's heart are lacking."

An aura of glittering black sand swirled around him as he glared at the witch. Powerful as she might be, how dare she question his ability to morph dreams into nightmares!

The woman glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, a wicked smile coming to her face. "Don't take it too hard," she cautioned, her voice mocking him as she crossed to the window and looked out over her dominion. "She would have to have her own strength if she is the one we're looking for. I've found someone more suited to get within her defenses."

He made a noncommittal grunt and joined her at the ledge. The immediate area was barren and dark, as if the ground itself were just as cruel as its mistress. But beyond, beyond there was a world of color and light that hurt his eyes just to look at.

"There is a new problem rising now," she said after a moment or two. "That boy who has been spending far too much time in the Magic Kingdom. I need him out of the way."

"Jack Frost?" the man asked, looking at the sorceress incredulously. "He has barely any power-people can't even see him! What trouble could he possibly be?"

"Alone, he isn't worth the stick he carries," the woman conceded. "But combine him with certain adversaries of yours..."

His face darkened. "I see your point," he said, though he strangely held nothing against the winter spirit. The poor kid had spent the past three hundred years barely existing, with only enough power to follow the north wind and spread ice. But the others, they were a problem. "Leave that problem to me."

She nodded, not looking to him, but she lifted her chin and easily resonated more power. "Its best not to fail me."

The man didn't respond, though he cast her another glance before he turned to his steeds and vanished into the shadows.

_**A/N:**__ Sooooo I got tired trying to piece to things together and this is what happened! lol Okay, so a while ago I saw _Rise of the Guardians _and I found the answer to what the heck was going on! Yeah, here's where it starts ^_^_


	21. Chapter 21

It Happened in a Mousedom (part 21)

It wasn't long before Jenny was on her feet again. In fact, by the time the Kingdom's Easter celebrations started that following Sunday, she was keeping the prince entertained as the royal family took part in the parade and picnic complete with races and egg hunts. Though, having not heard from Tiana in that span of time was making her nervous. She hadn't been able to get near Lottie to ask about where their friend was. So once the holiday fireworks ended and she bid the queen goodnight, Jenny took the long way home-stopping by Eudora's house.

She ended up staying over to comfort the distraught seamstress, though she wasn't sure how well she was doing. Eudora insisted that Jenny return to her regular life, though, when she'd offered to stay a second night. But Eudora promised to keep her informed if Tiana came home.

The next few days passed quickly, warming up and lasting longer while the nights still hinted at the winter they'd left behind. Jenny loved it. Spring was definitely her favorite season. With all the plants getting ready to bloom and animals were cleaning up their homes for love and family, she really couldn't see how anyone wouldn't like the season.

Her next day off found Jenny doing housework. A bit of spring cleaning, which was more for the fact that she was trying to work off her anxieties. The nightmares were at bay-so to speak. When she wasn't working, Jenny was constantly helping Euddora search for Tiana, who (as informed by Lottie) had gotten turned into a frog somehow along with the visiting prince of Maldonia. And her nights were filled with dreams of Dan Bennett holding her hand or laughing with her or any number of things. She still woke up with her heart racing and slightly panicked, but at least it wasn't in sheer terror.

Though it did interrupt her cleaning through the day as random thoughts of Mr Bennett would pop into her head at entirely inopportune times. Like while she was cleaning the attic windows. She was sitting on one of the front window sills of her attic, working out a strange smudge on the glass and so lost in thought that when a voice from below called up to her. And she nearly fell out.

"Ello, 'ello, 'ello! What're you doin up there? Chasing the kite?"

Blinking in confusion, Jenny looked down and smiled as she saw the soot-covered cap of a chimney sweep. "Hello," she called down to him. "What kite?"

"The one what's stuck on the next window over," the sweep said, gesturing to her right.

Jenny frowned and strained to see what the sweep was talking about. She was mostly out of the window when she finally caught a glimpse of green and yellow ribbon. Then she saw the small crack in the further window sill that it had its string attached to. It really wasn't that far over, maybe just close enough if she pulled out of the window more. So she cautiously scooted further, until her toes were just touching the coarse surface she'd climbed out of, and that turned out to be a mistake.

"Careful!" the Sweep shouted, but it was too late.

Right when her fingers grasped the string, pulling the kite free, the troublesome window pane slammed shut.

Jenny looked back at the old window and blinked. Luckily it hadn't shattered, but unfortunately there was now a very large crack going across the top left corner.

"Per'aps you should just stay put and I'll get one of me mates to bring a ladder for ya," the sweep suggested.

"Thank you," Jenny said, already adjusting herself (and her skirt) to the best of her ability so that she might return the way she's come. "But its really not that necessary-I just have to get the window back open."

"It'd be just as easy for me to get me mates, miss," the sweep said, clearly not enjoying the idea of her gallivanting on the rooftop.

"You're far too worried, sir," Jenny said warmly as she moved far enough that she could try the window. Which she did, only to let out a groan of disappointment. "Oh radish!"

"Can I get me mate's ladder now, miss?" the sweep asked, a faint hint of teasing in his voice.

Jenny let out a sigh, smiling through the embarrassment of her own predicament. "I suppose s-"

"Greetings, Bert!"

"Why, 'ello there, Mr Bennett!" the chimney sweep said, sounding both delighted and grateful at the young man's approach. Jenny, however, felt a deep blush come to her face, of course he would be here on a day she was making a fool of herself. Not that the chimney sweep-Bert-noticed. "What brings you this way on such a fine day?"

"I had to deliver a basket of pastries over to the Darlings' house," Dan's voice responded. "What brings you here?"

"Well, I was just heading to the bakery of a cup o'joe when I saw a girl goin onto a rooftop after a kite," Bert explained, making Jenny bury her face into her hands. "Now she's got herself stuck up there because the window's gotten stuck."

"What?"

Jenny took a moment to attempt finding composure, but soon just gave up and looked down at the two men with a sheepish smile. "Hello, Mr. Bennett."

Dan stared at her for a long moment, looking thoroughly shocked to find her up on her own roof. "Uh.. Hello, Jen-Miss Doe," he called back to her, his own color rising. "Do you... Do you need help getting down?"

"Oh, I'm sure I could find a way," Jenny said quickly, which made her mentally kick herself so she added, "But some help would probably be faster."

"I was gonna run and get one of me mates," Bert put in, leaning on his brushes. "But as you've come along, this here is what you'd call a fortuitous circumstance."

"Yes, I suppose it is," Dan agreed, still red as Bert's scarf.

"Right you are!" Bert said, clapping him on the shoulder. "Now, you wait 'ere and make sure Miss Doe don't go nowhere and I'll be back with a ladder before you can say 'Bob's your uncle'!"

And with that said, the chimney sweep sauntered of at a quick stride down towards Main Street. Leaving Dan and Jenny frozen in awkward silence.

Jenny cleared her throat a little and adjusted her skirt again, really wishing she'd chosen something a little nicer to clean in-even if that wouldn't have made much sense. She could see Dan below, pacing a little and scratching his head at their predicament.

"You don't have to safeguard me, you know," she called down to him.

"Oh, it's no trouble," he assured her and squinted against the afternoon sun to give her a smile. "It's a pleasure, Miss Doe."

"But this is the second time in less than two weeks that you've had to put up with my follies," she said, hinting at how she'd been feeling since his over-night visit.

"Honestly, Miss Doe, I don't know of anyone else I'd rather help," he said so sincerely that she felt the color rise in her face.

"Oh," she said, probably too softly for him to hear, and looked around just let her embarrassment cool. The day was beautiful, a busy and quaint Tuesday to be sure, but she couldn't help feeling an odd chill in the air.

Growing fidgety and strangely unaccustomed to sitting as a damsel in distress, she sighed and looked back down. "Mr Bennett?"

"Yes, Miss Doe?"

"Do you see Bert anywhere?" she asked.

"Uh..." A moment passed and leaning closer to the edge again, she could see him looking back down the street. "No," he said finally. "I don't believe so."

"Right, then. I'm starting my climb down," she informed him. "Could you shout to me if I'm aiming to miss a ledge or something?"

"What?!"

"I can't just sit up here," she said, smirking at his horror. "Who knows where Bert's friend is."

"Miss Doe, I really don't think that's the wisest thing to do," he insisted.

"Even if he does find a ladder, I doubt it'll reach this high," she pointed out. "The least I can do is get to the lower roof."

"Well, yes, but... Are you sure?" Dan asked.

Jenny peered over the ell of the roof. The wall space between her and the next roof was just barely taller than her with her arms above her head. Maybe she could get her feet onto the window sill down there... If nothing else it would be less of a fall to go this way.

"I think so," she said and quickly began tucking her skirt around her legs.

"Are you sure you can't wait for Bert?" Dan asked doubtfully.

"Yes," Jenny said, pushing aside her own apprehension of the idea.

The answer didn't make him relax at all and Dan Bennett was soon moving around the small square of a front yard as Jenny managed to ease herself over the edge of the roof. She'd barely let her whole weight down when the memory of being in a rather large gymnasium came to mind. She was hanging from something, just like she was now though it was rounder than a gutter pipe, and young high-pitched voices were cheering her on.

_"C'mon, Jenny! You can do it! You're almost there!"_

A sharp pain came to her fingers and her toes bumped the vinyl siding, and Jenny was abruptly brought back to the present. "Ouch!"

She looked up as she heard a very loud cawing sound and found herself staring at a particularly ugly raven. Who promptly let out another cry and pecked at her fingers.

"Ouch!" she said again. "Stop it! Go away."

The raven wouldn't quit, though, and Jenny soon found herself in an odd game of keep away as the tempered bird strove to destroy her grip. She had no idea where it had come from, the black bird hadn't been there five minutes ago, or why it was so hell-bent on getting her away from the roof, but it was getting painfully annoying.

Down below, Dan had shouted something, but with her arms on either side of her head, hearing him was next to impossible. She'd just moved a little further to the right, towards the edge of her house, when the Raven let out an angry cry of pain and staggered a few steps away. Jenny tried to glance back, but all she saw was the teal blue of Dan's bakery uniform.

A soft sound, the sound of something flying fast past her head, made her flinch, but the raven let out another cry and hopped further away. Another sound, followed by a small clank in the rain gutter made Jenny look up again. If the bird was there, she couldn't see it anymore and slowly she focused on trying to get to the window pane. The white wood jutted out only an inch or so from the siding of the house, but the sill was wider and enough of a shelf for her toes to step onto safely.

Cautiously she let go of the rain gutter and pulled herself to the window, then stepped the extra six or seven inches down to the porch roof.

"Are you alright?" Dan called up to her.

Jenny flexed her fingers. There were a couple scratches, a few were growing really red, but all-in-all the raven's attacks were only as painful as the line on the underside of her fingers from holding onto the rain gutter so long.

She moved closer to the edge of the roof and looked down at the anxious face waiting for her. "I'm fine," she assured him with a smile. "One more roof to go! Is the bird gone?"

Dan looked further above her head, then nodded with his eyes still on the upper roof. "Yes," he said. "Its gone. Now, can we please wait for Bert?"

"It's just one more," Jenny said confidently. "Plus I don't want to be up here if the bird decides to come back."

Without waiting to see if he agreed or not, Jenny judged the best way to get down now. There wasn't really a difficult way. The porch was six feet across and three feet deep, just large enough for two wicker chairs, a small table, and the door. There was a railing that could be sturdy enough to stand on, though she'd never thought to try it. But, well, no time like the present to find out. The strongest, she guessed, was at the end furthest from her. Not long after she'd first moved in, she was fairly sure it looked like it had a new coat of paint on it while the rest looked only a little worn.

Now if she could get onto that railing, she'd be able to climb onto the porch. Though... she might need help with that.

"Mr Bennett?" she called to the yard again as she made sure her skirts were tied more securely. "Would you mind coming over here and just... make sure I don't fall?"

When she looked up, however, Dan wasn't there. She frowned. It wasn't like him to disappear like that.

"Whenever you're ready, Miss Doe," his voice announced, nearly making Jenny jump in surprise.

She peered down the side she was going to climb to find him standing at the ready. Jenny blushed a bright red. "I'm on my way, then."

He nodded with a reassuring smile that conflicted with his unease about her climbing.

Taking a few deep breaths, Jenny moved one leg over the edge. Her hands stung a bit more this time around and she was definitely sure that she'd scraped her elbow. But soon she was hanging down again, though with a slight angle now.

Below her, she could feel Dan carefully guiding her by the ankles and then holding onto her as her toes rested on the rail. His touch was warm and gentle but it made her legs feel like they were going to turn to jelly if she wasn't careful.

"What next?" he asked.

"Umm..." Jenny tried to move, but a slight jostle when she started to let go of the roof, made her cling tighter to the roof and Dan's grip jumped to hold her around the shins. Maybe she should have just waited for Bert to return with a ladder.

"How about-can you put one hand on my shoulder?" he asked, his voice lightly muffled by the fabric of her skirt.

"I-I think so," she said, moving to grip the decorative under-hang with one hand. Then she tentatively reached further down until she felt the warm fabric of his vest. She was fairly sure her hands were shaking, but she forced the butterflies out of her stomach and placed her hand firmly on his shoulder.

A slight creaking sound caught her ear.

"Careful," Dan urged. "Something's wrong with the rai-."

Jenny let out a squeak of surprise, then suddenly she was staring at the clear blue sky, with Dan's arm around her waist and splinters of wood surrounding them in the grass.

"I'm sorry!" Jenny quickly yelped, scrambling off of him to kneel among the splinters. Then she gently placed a hand on his wrist. "Oh, Mr Bennett, I'm so sorry! Are you alright?"

Dan pushed himself up onto his elbows. His face was flushed pink and his hair was tousled from the fall, but he gave her a small smile through his shock. "Um... I'm f-fine," he said, then his smile turned teasing. "Shouldn't I be asking you that?"

Jenny tried to duck behind the several locks of her hair that had fallen free to hide her blush, even though she was sure it wasn't working, as she smiled. Nervously she twisted some strands around her finger. Why did she have such a talent for embarrassing herself in front of him? "I'm fine."

"No you're not."

She looked up at his decided statement, horrified that maybe she'd done something indecent in twirling her hair. Maybe that she'd moved and her shirt had fallen open over her shoulder, even though it was buttoned up to her collar bone. But Dan was frowning at her hand, which had somehow stayed on his wrist.

Horrified, Jenny quickly pulled her hand away only to be caught by Dan's. Then she noticed he was peering closely at her scrapes.

"What happened here, then?" he asked.

"Just a few scratches," she said, quickly pulling her other hand away from her hair to look at it. Somehow it all looked worse now that she was on the ground. The scratches that had only been red before had formed thin trails of blood from where the raven had gone a little too deep. Her hands looked really a bit awful.

"Is this from the crow?" Dan asked.

"Was it a crow? I thought it was a raven," Jenny said absently, still looking at her hands, almost as though she couldn't recognize them.

"I'm sorry my aim isn't better, then," he said in a surprisingly gruff undertone.

Jenny looked up curiously and found herself staring into his silver eyes. Even though silver was a strange color anyway, Jenny couldn't help being awed by the hint of deep blue in them.

She wasn't sure how long they stayed like that, but it felt like both years and only milliseconds had past when he tore his gaze away and she forced herself to look at a nearby bush. "You, uh," Dan stammered and got to his feet. "You should probably clean out those. The, uh, the cuts, I mean."

"Right, yes, I should," Jenny agreed and hesitantly let him help her to her feet. Then paused and a rueful smile came to her face. "But... I've locked myself out."

"What?" Dan turned back to give her an incredulous smirk. "All of that and you're locked out?"

Jenny let herself laugh, relieved to let that awkward moment of gazing into his eyes quickly bury itself in her memory-which was definitely murky enough to hide it. "It appears that way," she said with a shrug before folding her arms in front of her. "I don't typically keep my keys on me when I'm cleaning windows."

"I thought Bert said you were chasing a kite," Dan said with a chuckle.

She grinned at the sound. "I was-once he pointed it out to me," she said, then gave him a suspicious look. "What did you mean about better aim?"

Dan's hand went to the collar of his shirt momentarily before he looked down and pulled a teal piece of fabric from his pocket. "I, uh, I tried to scare it," he said, blushing a deep red with embarrassment. "I'm just glad I didn't hit you."

Jenny blinked at him as she slowly understood why he was holding the fabric piece. It was his bow-tie. He'd been flinging rocks with his bow-tie? Yeah, she was rather glad he hadn't hit her too. But it definitely made her wonder, how had he known to do that in the first place?

"Well, it's only two-thirty," Dan said, obviously trying to get over the new awkward moment. "How about I walk you to Dr. Sweet's office, then we'll head to the lock-smith's."

Jenny, who'd begun dusting grass off her skirt, looked up and gave him a smile. "That sounds like a very good plan," she said. "Thank you."

Dan nodded, all words having been blown out of his mind by her smile. It hadn't been one of her common courteous smiles that she gave to everyone. This was one of her bright-as-Christmas-lights type of smiles that could light up the kingdom without contest-and it had hit him full blast. He couldn't fathom how he was still standing, let alone carrying on a conversation with her.

"What about your shoes?" he wondered, dragging himself back to his senses.

Jenny looked down at her toes, which were very content in the new spring grass, then glanced back at the porch. As luck would have it, a pair of purple heels (which she had left outside to remind herself to donate them as there were rather large and had unappealing pom-poms on their toes) from Daisy were tucked under one of the wicker chairs. Praying she didn't bump into Edna Mode or any other fashionista on their way, Jenny pulled on the shoes and took Dan's arm for balance.

Then they continued down the street.

~~°o°~~

Luckily, as they left Market Place, they bumped into Bert again to find the chimney sweep toting collapsible ladder and a puzzled expression at seeing Jenny on the ground again. Smiling brightly, Jenny let Dan introduce her to the friendly man and then she relayed her current situation. And a few moments later, Dan and Jenny were on their way again, now laden with names of locksmiths and glass repairmen with the reminder to pass along greetings from the friendly chimney sweep who continued past them down the road.

By the time they'd made it to the locksmith's and then to the window repair company, where they learned she wouldn't be able to get into her house until eight o'clock and the window would be fixed on her next day off, Jenny was quite sure she never wanted to wear heels again. She let out a soft groan of pain as they left the window repair shop.

"Are you alright?" Dan asked quickly.

Jenny gave a small laugh and nodded. "Oh, I'm fine," she said with a sigh. "Though I'm sorely tempted to throw these ridiculous shoes into the nearest rubbish bin!"

He looked down at her feet, which were looking very red and sore around the rims of the shoe. "No, they don't look all that sensible," he said, then looked up as they made their way slowly down the street. "Perhaps we should stop in the Emporium and get you another pair?"

She paused and raised an eyebrow at him. "Mr Bennett, I left my wallet inside my house as well."

"Consider this a gift from me," he said and when her other eyebrow shot up he gave her a smirk, though he went a little pink. "So that I won't need to worry about you breaking an ankle for the rest of the night."

Now Jenny blushed, but strangely she was more than comfortable to react with mock offense. "My ability to walk in heels isn't that bad!"

He looked at her incredulously. "Shall I take my arm away then?"

"No!" Jenny gasped as even the slight movement set her ready to topple. "No, that's quite alright. This is fine." Then she giggled, sending him chuckling, and sighed in defeat. "I suppose buying a new pair of flats wouldn't be the worst idea-but I'll be paying you back!"

Dan flashed her a smile. "As you wish," he said, turning to their right. "Let's see what we can do."

Inside the Emporium, the couple was quickly directed to the Women's section and then to a large department for footwear. On three large walls, with hundreds of built-in shelves and three stand alone shelf towers, Jenny was fairly sure it was one of the largest selections of shoes she'd ever seen. Granted she'd never seen more than Belle and Cinderella's closets (the latter of whom went through shoes as though they were tissues) as far as royals went (and she'd heard that Queen Ariel practically collected shoes as though they were shells), but surely no one would want to own this many shoes.

A glance to her side showed her that Dan was just as gobsmacked. "Well," he said, staring around that the absurd selection. "I suppose this might take longer than we thought."

~~°o°~~

"Well?" Jenny said, turning one foot this way and that, then the other. "What do you think?"

Dan looked down as he took the receipt for her shoes off the counter, tucking it neatly into his pocket, and gave her a smile of approval. "Much better," he informed her, giving the sales clerk a thankful smile before joining Jenny at the door. "Best money I've spent all week."

Jenny giggled and looked down at the very plain ballet-slipper style shoe. "Thank you, Mr Bennett," she said, falling in step with him as they made their way to the door. "I promise, I'll pa-Oof!"

She was practically tackled as they paused on the sidewalk and then nearly defined as a long-absent voice shouted in delight. "Jenny!"

Dan steadied her as she staggered into him, but she was staring into dark curls in shock. "Tiana?"

The newcomer pulled back, grinning brightly with excitement that could only be challenged by the expression worn by the man standing just behind her.

Jenny struggled to find her words for a moment, but quickly pulled herself together. "Where have you been?!" she squeaked. "Your mother's been going out of her mind looking for you! And Lottie said that you were turned into _frogs_-!"

"I was," Tianna assured her, still smiling. "I was and it was probably the best thing that coulda happened to me."

She looked back towards the smiling man next to her and Jenny followed her gaze, frowning in confusion. "What...?"

"Jenny," Tiana said, biting her lower lip lightly and bouncing a little as she took the man's hand. "This is Prince Naveen. He... He's my husband."

Dan and Jenny stared, both looking back and forth between the two in shock.

"You got _married_?" Jenny finally asked.

"Well, more or less," Tiana said, a light blush on her cheeks.

"By Madam Odie," the prince provided, still grinning as he gripped Tiana around the shoulders proudly.

Jenny glanced at him again. "Who?"

"Doesn't matter," Tiana assured her quickly. "We have alot to do. We're goin to see Mama now, then we're headin over to Mr Frinner and Mr Frinner and gettin my restaurant."

"What?" Jenny asked, blinking in confusion. "I thought you already got it."

"You missed what happened at Lottie's ball," she said.

"Lottie didn't say anything bad about it," Jenny responded, thinking back to what few bits of information Eudora had managed to get from the Southern Belle.

"I'll have to tell you the story later," Tianna said with an apologetic smile, then gave her another hug. "Its just so good to see everyone again!"

Jenny giggled at her friend's enthusiasm even if she was still a little concerned over the strange story that surrounded the situation.

Before she could say anything else, Tiana was off-leading Naveen quickly up the street. "I'll be seein you soon!" she called back over her shoulder with an excited smile. "We're gonna have another weddin now that we're hum-uh, back!"

Still bemused, Jenny simply waved after them with a smile. Then she turned to look up at Dan, who simply shook his head in amazement.

"Looks like April's shaping up to be a busy month," Jenny said and took the first step in continuing down the sidewalk.

"It certainly does," he agreed with a chuckle, then hesitantly linked arms with her.

Jenny felt her face warm up instantly, but managed to resist pulling away as the butterflies in her middle started fluttering madly.

"What do you say to a movie?" he asked. "I believe the Main Street Cinema is showing a compilation of Mr Mouse's earlier works.

She gave a small sigh. "That'd be lovely," she admitted. "But, again, Mr. Bennett, I have no money on me."

"And, again, Miss Doe, I don't mind treating," he said with a mischievous smile. "The whole evening, in fact, as it seems you've got no where else to be."

Jenny looked at him suspiciously, feeling as though he was enjoying challenging her a little more than he should. But, even though she felt a prickling feeling that told her it was a bad idea, she smirked at him and raise a hand in defeat. "Alright," she said. "We'll add it to the tab."

"Right," he said with a comical nod, assuring her that he wouldn't keep track further than this. "Cinema and dinner at Tony's."

Before she could argue, he'd already begun to pull her along with him across the road.

_**A/N:**__ I feel like I'm just compiling random thoughts that are falling out of my brain at the moment. But I promise, it'll all work into a story eventually... O_o_


	22. Chapter 22

It Happened in a Mousedom (part 22)

It wasn't even a week left until their grand vacation, about three days, when Jenny had come into work one morning to find the queen was already out of bed and closed within her bathroom. So Jenny set about cleaning what little there was to clean and eventually waited in the little seating area of the room for any sign of the glass slipper queen. But half an hour passed and Cinderella still hadn't emerged. Frowning with concern, Jenny cautiously knocked on the door, which received something of a mutter in answer.

"You majesty? Is everything alright?" Jenny called through the door.

There were faint, indistinct noises followed by flushing and running water. Then Cinderella appeared from behind the door, still in her nightgown and dressing robe. "There are two entirely different ways to answer that question," she said with a strange expression. "But I suppose the best answer is-yes, I'm fine, but Charming's in trouble."

"Excuse me?" Jenny asked, blinking in confusion.

Cinderella merely gave her a tired smirk and waved for her to follow. So Jenny fell in step behind the queen as she led the way through the castle to her husband's study, despite only being in her dressing gown. Cinderella knocked quickly twice, then pushed the door open without waiting for an answer.

The king was seated at his desk with dozens of papers strewn across it and nearly as many advisers lurking around him like shadows. Very loud shadows with opinions that were conflicting about everything, it seemed. Charming himself appeared rather harassed, but he looked relieved when he spied his wife and Jenny across the room. Running a hand through his hair one final time, Charming sat up straighter and addressed the advisers.

"Lady and Gentlemen," he said with a resonance that carried a power to it. "I've told you all before, your advice is welcome-when we're holding _council_. Excuse me for being blunt, but as the subtle ways have yet to work-get out of my study!"

Surprised, but realizing that they'd managed to make the most poised king in the empire lose his cool, the advisers quickly muttered apologies and exited the room, bowing to the queen as they went. Once the door closed again, Cinderella turned to her husband-another strange expression on her face that Jenny was having a hard time placing. And, judging by the confusion on his face, Charming was too.

"Is something wrong?" Charming asked warily, deciding midway in getting to his feet that it might be better to stay where he was.

"For you, yes," Cinderella said vaguely as she crossed to his desk and folded her arms. "I spent most of the morning near the toilet because of you."

Charming blinked. "Uh..."

"You're sleeping in your own chambers tonight, Charming," Cinderella continued. "And you'd better get used to it for a while."

"My own-_what_?" Charming choked in alarm. "Why?"

"Because if this is anything like last time, I'll be kicking you out of bed anyway," Cinderella said and a smile started creeping onto her lips.

Slowly Charming's confusion faded to surprise then elation and he jumped up to circle the desk in two strides, then pulled his wife into an embrace. "You are?!" he nearly shouted. "When? How far are you? Oh it doesn't matter! This is _wonderful_!"

By the end of his praises, Cinderella was giggling and Jenny grasped what the big news was. There was going to be another prince or princess in the glass slipper royal family.

"Oh! Charming, put me _down_!" the queen gasped when he swung her around in his euphoria. Once she was on the ground again, she covered her forehead with a hand and closed her eyes while the other hand settled on her stomach.

"Do you need anything, Love?" Charming asked, guiding her to sit in the nearest chair.

"For the room to not move," Cinderella replied.

"Perhaps your stomach will settle after some breakfast," Charming offered, looking to Jenny as though she was some kind of authority.

"Toast at least," Jenny said. "I could go make some?"

Cinderella opened her eyes again, nodding as she got to her feet. Charming hovered around her like a worried hen. "How about you stay here," he suggested. "We can bring a breakfast to you."

"Don't be silly," Cinderella chided, gently hitting him in the arm. "I'd rather be in the kitchen-especially if your vultures come back."

The king chuckled. "In that case, I'll join you. I'd rather not be here either."

Cinderella smiled up at him and he gave her a kiss on the forehead as they preceded Jenny out of the room. Jenny couldn't fight her own smile as she followed them. The image of the royal couple, one still in her nightclothes and the other looking slightly haphazard in his day clothe, was heartwarming to her. Making her wonder if she'd ever planned to have a life like them. If she could have a life like them. Not royal, of course, but...

Memories of her time with Dan fluttered through her head, making Jenny blush. Their most recent adventure, having started as a cleaning day which he'd saved her from and ended with dinner then a movie before she went to stay with Tiana and Eudora for the night, was still burning bright in her memory. And though they'd gone all over Main Street that day, somehow they'd managed not to bump into anyone they knew. Well, outside of Tiana and her new husband.

Her thoughts broke off as Jenny tripped on what must have been the carpet and look around sharply to see if anyone had noticed only to find she'd slowed her pace and was now half the corridor behind the couple. Not even bothering to look back, she put on a small burst of speed to catch up as the glass slipper pair entered the kitchen.

"Maybe we'll be lucky and this one won't be as rough on you as Dorain was," Charming said hopefully, helping his wife to the island counter even though she didn't need it.

Cinderella let out a dry laugh, rolling her eyes. "That's probably wishful thinking, dear."

King Charming's eyes lit up with thought. "Well that's one answer."

Jenny and Cinderella exchanged confused glances as Jenny filled the tea kettle. "What is?"

"The Fairy Godmother," he said happily. "I'm sure she could-."

"No," Cinderella declared firmly. "No, I didn't want magic last time and I don't want it this time! You've heard what happens when there's too much magic involved-worse, we've seen it, Charming! Ariel's girls all have curses and her son has lung issues. Odette and Dorian have a strange form of narcolepsy. One of Jasmine's twins falls sick far too often to be considered normal-I won't have my child going through anything like that! If it turns out just like Dorian, I'll be happy."

Even half way through explaining her side of the argument, Charming had lifted his hands in defeat, wisely choosing to retrieve ingredients for a brunch-like meal for Jenny as the secretary heated both a frying pan and kettle. For her part, Jenny kept quiet. She wasn't sure she'd have much advice to give on this topic, which made her all the more sure that she must have grown up in a less magical corner of the Empire and the Hollywood Studios was becoming a more likely candidate. And that she probably didn't have siblings.

She and Charming had just finished laying a spread of food across the island counter, including several croissants Charming had managed to find, when a youthful shout reached their ears.

"_MAMAN!_"

Jenny's eyes were wide as she held back a laugh. There were very few times she'd heard of when the prince of the Magic Kingdom would actually shout for his mother in French, but when it did happen everyone knew that the young heir was overly agitated.

Barely a moment passed before the small blonde boy appeared in the doorway with a little glare on his face that was almost comical.

"What on earth's the matter, darling?" Cinderella asked, her eyebrows raised in alarm.

Prince Dorian stomped into the room. "Monsieur LaFosse's new assistant needs to be fired!"

"Come again?" Charming requested with a small laugh, though his eyebrows were also rising up his forehead. "What the devil for?"

His choice of words earned him two glares, one from the queen who disapproved and one from his son who was frustrated at being questioned. "Because he hurt Dartagnon!" the prince declared. "He's got a long cut on his flanks now and there's bruises on his neck."

Cinderella and Charming exchanged glances, both looking a little concerned if not dubious. "Honey," Cinderella inquired slowly. "Are you sure it wasn't just... one of your nightmares? You have been having a lot of them lately."

Jenny looked the boy over with concern, becoming very aware of the darkened areas under the prince's eyes as well as how those blue orbs kept blinking with the threat of sleep. But there was also that uncharacteristic scowl on his face that hinted at the need for a nap.

"I saw him with him!" Dorian declared. "No man like that should be allowed in this kingdom! No, he should be exiled from the whole empire!"

"Alright, alright," Cinderella said, placing a calming hand on the boy's shoulder. "Breathe, Dorian. Here, eat something, then take your father and show him."

The glare faded as the prince climbed onto a stool, quickly growing more peaceful as sugary pastries were placed in front of him. It wasn't until several mouthfuls later that he actually looked over the amount of food curiously. "Why are you eating so late?"

Jenny glanced at the royal couple, who exchanged glances between themselves before looking back to the prince uncomfortably. "Well," the king said slowly. "Uh... well... You know how you've been wanting to have a little brother or sister?"

Dorian considered the question for a moment, then nodded as he regarded his father suspiciously. "Why?"

"Well, honey," Cinderella said, stepping in to save her husband and taking her son's hands. "You're going to be a big brother."

The poor prince looked entirely bewildered. "...How?"

"How about you and your father talk about this on the way to the stables," Cinderella suggested, locking eyes with her husband.

"Right, uh, yeah, let's go," Charming said looking as though he would almost rather go back to his harassing council members. But, being the king he his, Jenny smiled as the tall man steeled himself and grabbed another croissant before ruffling his son's hair. "C'mon, Dorian. Take something along, this could be a long walk."

~~°o°~~

"It's funny," Jenny said, later that evening as she sipped her cocoa from a seat at the bakery counter. "Charming's ecstatic. I've never seen a man happier about such news! Both Cinderella and Dorian are on the fence about it. Or, I think Dorian's on the fence. He wasn't quite right today..."

Behind the counter, Dan listened with interest. It was a slow night, near closing time, and Marc had gone with Anastasia to bring the royal family a basket of brownies to celebrate. So he happily volunteered to lock up when Jenny came through the door. "Well, as far as I've heard from Anastasia," Dan said, draping the towel over his shoulder so he could lean across the counter with a conspiratorial smirk. "The king has always wanted two children. The Queen only wanted one. Bad memories of siblings."

"Ah." Jenny nodded in understanding, then giggled and pushed Dan away as he started making faces at her.

He rocked back onto his heels with a grin and resumed cleaning the counters, even though it could have been considered clean a while ago.

"Are you on the fence about it?" he asked after a moment or two.

"Me?" Jenny asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Well it changes your job too, doesn't it?" Dan pointed out.

Jenny sat back in her chair as she mulled it over. "You know," she said slowly. "I hadn't thought about it like that... I suppose it does..." But then a thought came to her mind and she looked at him with large eyes, "You don't think-the trip-?"

Dan shook his head. "No," he assured her. "I doubt the Queen would cancel, according to Anastasia, she'd been looking forward to this ever since the idea was formed."

Jenny giggled as she nodded, it was true. "I suppose I should go," Jenny said after a glance at the clock told her it was well past closing time. Which meant he'd kept the bakery open late because of her. She gave him a warm smile. "I need to finish packing."

"Yes, I agree, since the vacation is only a day away," Dan said with a chuckle.

"Right," Jenny said, a sheepish blush rising in her cheeks. She wasn't sure if she had ever packed for a trip before. Or, at least, not at least when she wasn't moving to a new place.

"Uh, you know," Dan said slowly, flinging the towel over his shoulder as he joined her in walking to the door, "Anastasia and Marc are having a, uh, get-together tomorrow. For Easter. You should stop by, you know, for your last cup of tea for a week."

She gave him a bemused look, but smiled. "Alright, that sounds like a good idea. I'll see you tomorrow then, after work."

"I look forward to it," Dan assured her.

~~°o°~~

The Easter festivities in the Magic Kingdom were nothing short of spectacular, though Jenny was beginning to feel like that was being considered the "norm" for the kingdom. The royal family participated in the joyous and colorful parade at the last minute when, strangely, the Easter Bunny didn't arrive. Then the family called it an early night when it became clear that Dorian was even more worn out than the previous day, which made Jenny worry.

Especially if it was nightmares.

"The vacation will help," Cinderella promised, though Jenny couldn't help thinking it sounded more as if the Queen was trying to convince herself than assure her secretary.

So not too long after dinner, Jenny found herself heading to the Main Street Bakery while she wondered over the strange reactions of the children she'd seen that day. All of them, even the few she passed as she walked, looked as though they could use a full day's worth of extra sleep.

"Oh Jenny! You made it!" Anastasia cried out as soon as Jenny stepped through the door and quickly making her way (albeit, rather clumsily) to Jenny's side. "Dan'll be happy-he's looked like the party's been painful for the past _hour_! Would you get him out of it?"

Jenny glanced around the room quickly, but the man in question was entirely missing from the scene. She offered her friend a smile. "I'll see what I can do."

Anastasia gave her a grateful hug and continued on to Marc's side. Jenny looked around the room again and sighed. There were dozens of people she knew, all of her neighbors and a few from neighborhoods as far as Adventureland. So making her way through the room proved to take longer than she'd thought.

"You might want to check the kitchen," Anita suggested when Jenny told her she hadn't seen Dan yet. "He usually escapes into there when it gets too crazy in here."

So Jenny continued weaving through the party-goers until she managed to get behind the counter and sighed in relief as she disappeared behind the kitchen door. Then she stopped in her tracks. She'd never actually been in the kitchen before. It was rather large with alot of counter-space and very clean, though it also had the style and marks of years of use on its yellow tiles and copper accents. All sorts of cooking and baking utensils hung from ceiling venting systems and on hooks along the walls.

It was all fairly impressive, but Dan wasn't anywhere to be seen. She was about to turn back around and report him missing to Marc and Anastasia when a soft breeze drew her attention to an open "Dutch" door at the far end of the room. Curious as to why it was open while everyone was up front, Jenny went over to take a quick look.

Beyond the half door there was a little garden, mostly stocked with pallets and other discarded objects that seemed to have been long forgotten. But at least those were brushed off to the side, making a fairly pleasant walkway which opened up a little at the end for a small gazebo that twinkled with little candles that hung from its roof. It was a strange place for the enchanting scene, but Jenny couldn't help feeling almost as though it truly existed only because of magic.

"Good evening, Miss Doe," a voice greeted her from her right.

"Dan," she gasped when she jumped and saw him leaning back against the wall with a small chunk of wood in his hands. "Uh, Mr Bennett. What are you doing out here?"

He gave her a considering glance, then smiled as a playful sparkle entered his eyes. "Come out here and I'll show you."

She hesitated a moment, considering whether she should tell him that they needed to go back inside, but he pushed off the wall and came closer to hold out his hand. And before she could change her mind, she took it.

Dan gave her another smile and led her to the gazebo. Jenny stared at the simple beauty of the scene. She had to hand it to him, on the long list of admirable traits he already had, Dan was an artist even with the simplest of things. Like mason jars housing candles that twinkled like fallen stars.

"Thank you," Dan said.

Jenny jumped a little in surprise. Had she said all of that aloud?

Dan chuckled. "Your expression," he said. "It's a beautiful reaction."

"Oh!" Jenny felt her face heat up and moved around in the gazebo to attempt to hide it. "It really is lovely, though."

"Thank you again," he said and Jenny could hear the smile in his voice.

She smiled back at him over her shoulder, though her attention was caught by a movement of shadows against the night sky. As if something, or someone, had half flown from a nearby tree to the rooftop of the bakery. "Did you see that?" she asked, gesturing upward. "Something's on the roof."

Dan turned to look, but by that point neither could see anything out of the ordinary. "Maybe it was Peter's shadow," Dan offered, though his eyes still searched. "He's been known to lose it every now and then."

"Maybe," Jenny agreed slowly, but something told her it wasn't the forever youth or his shadow and that sent a shiver down her spine. Something strange was going on again.

"I wish the moon was out," Dan said.

Jenny blinked at him, then gave him a small smile. "What?"

He returned the smile. "Moonlight always adds to the beauty of the night," he said, his blush deepening. "It adds a halo at times."

"I suppose it does," Jenny said after a moment or two of Dan looking entirely uncomfortable. To spare him, though, she gave him a broader smile and changed the topic. "So why are you hiding out here? This is the second time we've avoided partiers."

He let out a laugh, sounding relieved that the moment had passed and amused that she'd pointed out their isolation, and glanced back at the door to the kitchen. "I suppose I am a hermit," he said, flashing her a smile. "I prefer smaller gatherings-with people I know well. I've never been good at small talk."

Jenny nodded in understanding, after all she preferred that too. But her smile was still dubious, he'd been more than friendly making her acquaintance. "Anastasia doesn't seem to think you have a problem," she pointed out. "She's the one who sent me out to get you."

Dan laughed again and shook his head. "Yes, well I suppose that's where today has its benefits."

"What?"

"As it's my birthday, I've been told by many, that I'm allowed to do as I wish," he said with a shrug.

"Your birthday? I thought it was a celebration for Easter," Jenny said, looking mildly confused.

Dan chuckled and nodded. "Well, yes," he agreed. "But it's also my birthday."

Jenny's eyes might as well have doubled in size with her shock. "Oh!" she gasped. "Oh, jeeze, I'm sorry! I should have-."

"No, no, don't worry about it," Dan said quickly. "I didn't really advertise it."

"Why?" she asked, her heart still racing with embarrassment.

"Birthdays and I," he said slowly, looking around as though he couldn't decide what to focus on, "We don't really have a good history."

She gave him a curious look, but nodded. "Well, I hope you're having a happy birthday," she said with a small smile, tucking a loose lock of hair behind her ear. "I'd have gotten you something if I'd known."

He smiled and shook his head. "I'm really an awful person to shop for," he assured her. "I have almost everything I need."

Jenny gave him a smile. It was things like this that made her stop. It was something she'd noticed and liked about him. He gave more than he took of anything and everything. Which, he was right, made him awful to buy gifts for. But then, it also meant he liked moments and memories more than objects.

Very much like her.

"Isn't it funny?" he said with another smile. "This year Easter has fallen on my birthday. It hasn't really felt like Easter, though. Most of the celebrations were half-hearted this year."

Jenny nodded, her mind trailing back to how Dorian and many other children had been acting lately. Not to mention the absence of the Easter Bunny during the parade.

"What is it?" Dan asked, and Jenny looked up to find him watching her intensely.

She hesitated, wondering how crazy she was going to sound, but Dan had been every ounce a friend so far... She sighed. "It will probably sound impossible," she said slowly. "But... I feel like something's wrong. Something big."

Dan frowned. "You mean like the nightmares?" he asked, and when she nodded he did too. "Anastasia told me about the prince's nightmares too. And the families that live near my apartment-their children haven't been sleeping through the night."

Jenny twiddled absently with her bracelet and her brow furrowed in thought. "They're signs," she mumbled, her vacant gaze on one of the nearby candles. "They're signs of something..."

"Of what?" Dan pressed.

She looked up and blinked at him, dragging her attention back to the present before she pressed her lips together and blushed. "I don't know."

But her concern and what important information hid within the fog of her brain were quickly melting away as she noticed how closely Dan was standing. How he smelled like nutmeg and almonds. How the lighting he'd created just amplified everything.

"We'll... We'll figure it out," Dan assured her softly. Jenny's eyes traveled up to his, finding him at war with himself as he gazed down at her. "Soon enough."

Jenny nodded, her eyes dropping to watch his lips as he spoke. She knew what was coming as he moved closer. It really wasn't that hard to guess.

It was terrifying.

At the same time she couldn't figure out how to move away and strangely didn't know if she wanted to. And then it was too late.

~~°o°~~

For the briefest of moments, their lips touched.

Then Jenny pulled back with a gasp, wrenching herself out of his tender hold and staggering back into a tower of pallets. For a moment the unsound wooden structure swayed from her force, but it slowed and stilled again as the pair stared at each other. One wary, the other terrified.

"Jenny?" Dan asked, looking both pained and worried by her reaction.

She regarded him with wide eyes, but neither could say for sure if she was actually seeing him. Her mind was racing with thoughts connected to the mere seconds of their kiss, but only one was connected to the kiss itself. And that thought of eager shock was quickly overwhelmed by what had been waiting for her behind her eyes. Images-memories, maybe-of a dark haired man and a large tree and a skull shaped rock (among many other things) had flickered through her mind so quickly, she could hardly make heads or tails of it.

But she did know one thing. "I'm sorry," she breathed, shaking her head slowly. "I need to go."

Dan stared at her for a moment, but when she started to move past him he reached for her arm. "No," he gasped. "Jenny, wait! I didn't-."

"I'm sorry," she said, pulling as far as she could go before turning back to him. "I-I can't..."

To her surprise, Dan's hands gently enclosed hers. When she looked up she felt her face flush red at the subdued look in his eyes. Even if she couldn't figure out how to explain her anxiety, he seemed to understand. And, moreover, he accepted it. He didn't try to protest or tell her how she should feel or suggest ways to get around her fears. He just nodded and gave her a reassuring smile. Like it was okay to take things slow and panic a little.

It was like a bucket of water the way relief poured over her and, when she finally relaxed enough to notice, she found herself smiling back at him with her fingers curled around his thumb. Maybe this would go nowhere. Maybe she did have a past she had to get back to. And maybe it had many more frightful things in store than good. But right now, she honestly couldn't imagine his presence not being beside her.

He gave her hand a gentle squeeze, silently telling her that they didn't need to work things out right now. Then he stepped closer again.

Jenny tensed a moment before raising a questioning eyebrow at him.

"Dance with me?" he asked.

Instantly Jenny's heart began racing as the fear of her past rose in her mind as well as the worry that maybe he didn't understand as much as she thought he had.

"You can consider it my birthday gift," he said with a teasing smirk. "Unless you really want to buy me a new watch or something."

Far too happy that all awkward moments were behind them, Jenny laughed and nodded. Then lead her into a slow swaying dance to the sounds that still floated to them from the crowd inside. And as her gaze took in their surroundings while they twirled, she didn't see the pained sadness in Dan's eyes.

_**A/N:**__ We're getting closer to the vacation! YAY! Sorry this chapter probably fairly choppy and doesn't make sense BUT don't forget that Easter is when Rise of the Guardians took place ^_^_


	23. Chapter 23

It Happened in a Mousedom (part 23)

"Oh, excuse me!" Jenny gasped, spinning to face the guard she'd bumped into while running across the drawbridge. Even with her best attempts to stay out of peoples' way she seemed to have an uncanny talent for miss-stepping.

But the face that she saw under the uniform guard's hat, startled her. He was smiling, but it was a calculated smile and his piercing dark eyes were practically boring into her as he said, "More than alright, miss."

"Uh, thank you," she said slowly, trying to pull her attention away from the large scar on his cheek.

His eyes flashed at her, and a trill of panic sent her hurrying through the castle gate with a forced smile. She didn't stop until she'd gone across the royal courtyard and around to the far side of a carriage, and then she peeked back down to find him just returning his attention to the drawbridge.

She felt sick. Her heart was racing and her stomach was in knots with the need to runaway vibrating through her. But all thoughts were quickly interrupted.

"Hi, Miss Jenny!"

She looked around for the owner of the cheerful young voice, but her gaze eventually traveled upward and she had to shade her eyes in order to see any of the blonde haired boy that was smiling down at her.

"Hello Prince Dorian," she called up to the tower window, forcing down her earlier anxiety with concern for what the prince was planning. "What on earth are you doing up there?"

"Science!" the boy declared with an eager grin as he puffed out his chest dramatically. He was just like his father that way, a fantastic story teller.

"Oh?" she asked, smiling back, even though she was sure she'd have seen a dangerous sparkle in his eye if she were closer. "And what science is this?"

"Bouncisity."

She blinked. "What?"

"I'm testing bounciness," he responded and held up both of his hands.

Jenny groaned behind her smile. In his hands were at least a dozen bouncy balls in just as many colors.

"Are you sure now's a good time for that?" Jenny asked warily as the young prince seemed to be judging the best target to aim for. "Aren't we leaving in twenty minutes?"

"Yeah," the prince drawled, casting her a grin as he used the term he was continually told improper. "But that's almost half an hour from now! Ready?"

Without waiting for a confirmation, which was really only a sigh from Jenny, Dorian tossed the balls into the air from three stories high.

"In coming!" he had the courtesy to shout as the colorful orbs rained down on the courtyard. Shouts went up in surprise and dismay from servants and guards as their preparations to get the royal family on their way were halted in varying ways.

Jenny had her eyes closed, it felt like she knew from experience that she wouldn't want to see all the calamity the prince's test had caused. And not too soon after, there was a tug on her sleeve as the noise turned to angry grumbles. She glanced at the cheerful face by her elbow and smiled.

"Did you see?" Dorian asked, practically bouncing himself. "Wasn't that cool?"

She chuckled and ruffled his hair. "Oh yes, very cool," she agreed. "But what did we learn from this experiment?"

A small frown of thought came to the prince's face as he sorted his answer. "Well," he said slowly, then took a stance that made it seem like he was giving a report. "The homemade ones don't bounce as high as the store bought ones. The smaller ones bounce higher and go further. And the rubberband ones break apart if you don't have them tied right."

"Very nice," Jenny said with a chuckle as she glanced around the chaotic courtyard again. "But you've forgotten one thing."

"What?" The prince asked, looking fairly disconcerted that he'd left anything out.

"Dropping them from high places when there's something big going on will probably create more trouble than you were looking for," she said, then pointed beyond his shoulder. Dorian spun around only to freeze momentarily, then let out a groan at the sight of his parents and governess coming down the main staircase to the yard.

"I'm _doomed_," he told her dramatically.

"Well, maybe they'll be more interested in getting on the road than lecturing," Jenny comforted, giving his shoulder a gentle squeeze.

Dorian gave her a small smile of thanks, but shook his head. "No, that just means we have the whole carriage ride to talk about it."

Jenny had to grant him that. Maybe she'd try to get him to ride with her instead. Or she'd ride with the king and queen and let Dorian ride with Anastasia and Marc. Then again, her initial assurance to the prince seemed to be shining through.

"Oh _there_ you are!" Cinderella said with a sigh as she reached her son's side.

"Sorry," he said quickly. "I was-."

"And, Jenny, you're here too! Excellent!" Cinderella said, checking the new pocket watch Charming had given her in order to alleviate his recent punishment. "That only leaves Anastasia and Marc, then we'll be good to go! Now, what were you saying, dear?"

Dorian and Jenny exchanged glances. "Nothing," the prince said quickly as Jenny smiled and agreed saying, "Only that we're ready to go."

Cinderella blinked at them, momentarily confused by their behavior, but broke into a wide smile. "Oh good!" she said. "It's going to be such fun."

"Of course, your ma-um, Cinderella," Jenny agreed.

The queen sighed and shook her head with a smile. Then she turned towards the castle gate and frowned. Thinking it over quickly, Cinderella threw her arms in the air. "Oh stuff!" she announced and headed towards the leading carriage. "Carl? How about you go down and get them from the Bakery? My sister probably hasn't even left yet."

"Right away, Ma'am," the carriage driver said with a nod and flicked his horses' reigns.

She watched them leave, waiting until the footman riding on back was no longer seen through the archway, then started towards the second carriage. "Alright, then, everyone! Let's head out, I'd rather not get stuck in the traffic for the Petty Race today," Cinderella announced, then turned to swat at her husband's helping hands. "I can still get into a carriage, Charming! I'm not _that_ far along!"

"Just getting back into practice," the king assured her airily, but both Jenny and Dorian hid giggles at the sight of his grin.

"See?" Jenny said, giving the prince a soft nudge. "No troubles at all."

The prince grinned and hurried after his parents. "But Dad," she heard the prince ask as she followed him. "Didn't you want to see the race?"

King Charming chuckled as Dorian and then Jenny settled inside the carriage across from him and his wife. "First rule of marriage, young man," he said seriously, though his eyes twinkled merrily as he hit the roof of the carriage, causing it to lurch forward. "Be careful choosing your battles."

Dorian wrinkled his nose, finding the advice distasteful if not confusing.

"Besides," Charming continued, giving Cinderella a smile. "I know Richard well enough, I'm sure we can go to another race."

Cinderella smiled back warmly, though placed a hand over her middle as they jostled over the cobblestones of the courtyard. Jenny caught the queen's gaze, silently asking if she was alright, but Cinderella just gave her another reassuring smile and rested her head upon the king's shoulder.

"Have a safe journey, your majesties," a guard called through the window as the carriage slowed to merge into the hub's circle.

Jenny stiffened as she caught sight of the man's face. It was the same guard she'd bumped into when she'd arrived and his eyes were still chilling. He gave her a leering smile.

Pulling her gaze away quickly, Jenny was surprised to find the prince looking just as alarmed, if not a little murderous. "That's him," the boy said slowly, then looked to his parents. "That was him!"

"Who, dear?" Cinderella asked, looking from Jenny to Dorian in concern.

"That man!" Dorian yelped. "That guard! He—he's the one who hurt D'Artangion!"

"He is?" Jenny couldn't stop herself from asking. At the prince's determined nod, she looked back out the window, but they were already caught up in the hub's traffic and the guard was nowhere to be seen.

"We have to go back and save D'Artangion," Dorian announced. "Before that man gets him!"

Cinderella and Charming exchanged worried glances, then looked to Jenny.

"I'm afraid he's gone, your highness," Jenny informed the prince, who instantly pouted. "But I'm sure D'Artangion will be safe, you've told Monsieur LaFosse and he's going to keep a close eye on him. That man won't be able to get anywhere near him."

Dorian mulled the thought over. Then he slowly gave the secretary a smile and a hug, content with the idea as he settled against her for the ride ahead. Jenny smiled back and draped her arm around the young prince, but she couldn't help thinking back on the strange guard. And she found herself fighting down a shiver.

Whoever he was-being there was a bad sign.

~~°o°~~

A good while later, after a brief stop for lunch along the way, Jenny found herself being helped down from the carriage by King Charming as she stared at what must have been the most majestic white building with brilliantly red roofs.

"Impressive, isn't it?" Charming asked, stepping next to her to admire the building too as the footman attended their bags.

"Very," Jenny said, nodding though her eyes continued to take in every detail.

Charming smiled. "It was a pet project of my mother's," he informed her proudly. "She'd been to a hotel like this once while traveling with my father. When they came home she decided one should be built within the Empire. Everything, from roof color to doorknobs, is fit to her specifications. She was quite into details."

Jenny nodded, entirely dumbfounded by this tidbit of history, and looked up as the King held his arm out to her.

"Shall we?" he asked. "It seems my wife has left us to make our entrance together, again."

"We do seem to make a habit of it," Jenny agreed with a laugh, which quickly broke down some of her shock as she linked arms with him. And she had a sneaking suspicion that it had been the king's aim.

"Indeed we do," he said with another smile as he lead her towards the large glass doors.

The interior of the Grand Floridian was just as opulent as its facade had hinted. Large pillars circled the lobby, creating a sitting area in the center with a floral-patterned carpet under clusters of high-backed chairs and sofas beneath two incredibly large chandeliers. To the right of the middle was a regal "birdcage" elevator, behind which was a dramatic staircase. Halls lead off from the large room to restaurants and other parlors that Jenny could only imagine the design of.

She only barely realized she was staring again when trying to walk with the King and look at the next floor up (which contained some high-end shops and an orchestra stand from what she could see) resulted in her craning her neck and nearly walking into someone. Blushing furiously, Jenny tried to keep her gaze on the front desk ahead of them and the smiling members of the royal family waiting for them.

"We're all set!" Cinderella announced. "And we're the first ones here, so we might as well go up and relax for a little while, don't you think?"

Jenny gave her a grateful smile and nodded. Next to her, Charming smiled as well, though much more brightly. "Alright," he said, scooping his still fairly sleepy child onto his hip. "To the suites! Before Philip and Aurora arrive and suggest something to do."

~~°o°~~

"I hope you don't mind it," Cinderella said, sweeping into the suite to examine the rooms. "I'd tried to get you into one of the larger suites with us, but all together with the children, Aurora, Philip, Belle, and Adam-we really didn't have room on our floor."

"No, no," Jenny said quickly, still gazing around the opulent room in wonder even though it held a familiarity that she couldn't place. "Really, this is fine."

The queen gave her a satisfied smile, only to make a mildly rueful face. "I wish they'd put the other rooms near your's at least."

"Other rooms?" Jenny repeated absently, running her fingertips over the rose-patterned quilt of the bed.

"Oh-uh-you know," Cinderella said with a quick little laugh, instantly taking interest in the view. "Anastasia and Marc-they're in a building down that way, I believe. Across the pool."

Jenny joined her employer at the window and nodded as she looked across the wide expanse of the resort to a building just south of the swimming pool.

"They'll be joining us for breakfast in the morning," Cinderella said, turning to sit in one of the chairs at the tea table. "I think everyone's just going to have tonight's meal in their rooms as it's getting late and it was such a long journey to get here. You're welcome to join us, of course."

"That'd be lovely, thank you," Jenny said.

"Wonderful," Cinderella cheered with an even larger smile.

"Hello?" a melodic voice called out, knocking on the room's door. "Jenny? Are you in?"

Jenny glanced at Cinderella and the two shared a smile though the queen rolled her eyes and answered the door.

"Oh! Cindy!" Aurora chirped in surprise. "You weren't who I was looking for!"

"Well, that's a fine 'how do you do'," Cinderella laughed. "It's nice to see you too, dear."

Aurora smiled and wrinkled her nose at her friend, then gave the Queen a kiss on each cheek. "It's always nice to see you, Cindy," she promised, using the hug to peer around Cinderella and into the room to smile at Jenny. "Oh, well this is lovely!"

Jenny held in a giggle, but smiled brightly in agreement. "It is," she agreed. "The whole resort is."

"You've yet to see the whole resort," Cinderella reminded her as Aurora bustled into the room to examine it further. "But, yes, Charming's mother had impeccable taste."

"Oh definitely," Aurora agreed, then started towards the door again with a rather satisfied smile. "By now Philip and Kristen must have gotten the children up to the suite and, if we're lucky, awake."

"Awake?" Cinderella repeated with a chuckle. "Did they fall asleep on the ride, too?"

Queen Aurora shook her head, a slight frown on her elegant face. "They've been asleep since last night," she said. "We haven't tried to wake them, they've been sleeping so poorly the past few nights, but it isn't as though we were going out of our way to be quiet either."

"Were they having nightmares?" Jenny asked quickly.

Both queens looked at her in mixes of surprised confusion.

"Yes," Aurora said after a moment. "They'd barely close their eyes for two minutes just to wake up again screaming."

Jenny and Cinderella exchanged glances, unspoken concern growing in their eyes which was mirrored in the other queen's violet orbs when they looked at her again too.

"How did you know that?" Aurora asked slowly.

"Dorian's been having nightmares too," Cinderella said. "He was so tired that he slept most of the way here."

She didn't add that Jenny had fallen asleep too, but to some extent the glance she gave the young woman made it so she didn't have to. Jenny was already trying to not go too deep into thought. Somehow it felt connected-the nightmares, the holiday, the shadows she couldn't remember-but piecing it together was like putting sand into a sieve.

"Well," Aurora said with a smile as she tried to restore happier thoughts. "At least we'll all be well rested for the rest of the vacation!"

Cinderella chuckled easily. "Very true, though I shall be passing along my condolences to Kristen now, if that is the case."

Aurora waved her hand dismissively with a smile. "Oh she can handle Dorian, I'm sure of it!"

"I'll still wish her luck," Cinderella laughed. "Once all three of them are back in sorts, they can be quite the thing to handle."

Jenny smiled as Aurora turned to smirk and shake her head. "Whatever you wish, Cindy," the long-haired queen said with a sigh. "At any rate, we'll only be doing a light dinner tonight. You're all welcome to join, of course. Have we heard from Belle and Adam yet?"

"Not yet," Cinderella answered. "And we were thinking of doing a small dinner ourselves. If the children are still sleeping, maybe we should host?"

Aurora mulled on the suggestion for a moment, then nodded. "That might be wise. I'll dash up to the room for a moment and telephone to finalize."

Barely waiting for a nod from the Glass Slipper Queen, Aurora was on her way down the hall towards the main staircase. Cinderella and Jenny just smiled and shook their heads before collecting Jenny's key to the room and locking the small suite behind them as they headed towards the closer stairwell.

"You think it's not coincidence that the children have been having nightmares," Cinderella pointed out quietly once they were closed off on the stairs.

Jenny bit her bottom lip lightly, but shook her head. "No, your majesty," she admitted. "I'd been having trouble sleeping myself lately, but what worried me was Easter. Not a single child looked as excited as previous years."

Cinderella hummed in agreement, stepping onto the top landing gently pinching her chin as she thought. "I noticed that too," she confided. "At first I thought it was because Bunnymund was missing, but... even with that, children usually love parades. And I'd understand if it was just a few children, but all of them?"

"Maybe we're reading too deeply into it," Jenny said, really not quite sure she wanted to insight paranoia.

But the queen shook her head and opened the door to the hallway of the royal suite. "There are too many things lining up for it to be a coincidence," she reaffirmed. "It hasn't just been the children's ailment. There are other... signs of things stirring."

"Other signs?" Jenny echoed warily.

Cinderella frowned in thought as they reached the door to the royal family's suite, then put a smile on her face that could have made Jenny doubt that anything was troubling the Queen at all. "Let's leave it be for now," she suggested jovially. "We're on vacation, it's better not to be bogged down by unpleasant worries."

With that said, she opened the door and strode into the suite. Jenny followed at a slower pace as she stared around at the splendor of the "Walt Disney Suite." It might as well have been a house! The living room was large and consisted of lavish, comfortable looking sofas and chairs. There was a dining section with a table of rich mahogany wood and detailed with hand-painted designs. Doorways off to the left and right were opened to glimpses of opulent bedrooms, which surely had equally elegant washrooms attached to them. But the best thing, Jenny was sure, had to be the view.

The whole suite was full of light from the large windows that lined the octagonal space, half of which lead out onto dainty balconies that over looked the rest of the resort. It was a beautiful scene of florally budding trees interspersed among the blinding white of the buildings and the vibrant red of the roofs. It was like one of the paintings hanging in the Castle. She would have easily accepted it if someone had shown her the scene and told her it was painted by Vincent Van Gogh.

"Lovely isn't it?"

Jenny jumped, having been so enchanted by the beauty of it all that she didn't notice the approach of the king, whom apparently found her reaction amusing. "Here," he said, reaching forward to unlatch the French doors. "It's better when you're not looking through glass."

Opening out to the small balcony let in a gentle, warm breeze that felt more like a breath of life than anything she'd ever felt. And Jenny found herself smiling as she took in even more of the beauty, now able to see the Seven Seas Lagoon as well as the hotel's main entry and gardens.

"Mother really knew her stuff," Charming commented, his attention more on the gardens than anywhere else. "She loved this place as much as she loved the Castle."

"I believe it," Jenny sighed, giving the king a smile. Which he returned before turning back to the room, which suddenly seemed too confining to the young secretary. So she stayed where she was, leaning on the rail to watch as elegant cars and carriages travelled like a parade up the driveway.

She wasn't sure how long she stayed there, though she knew it had been long enough to see the blue of the sky change to an array of lovely pale colors until they grew rich and deep. But this early in the season, that could have been only ten or twenty minutes. And around that point she noticed the yawning prince leaning on the rail beside her. Smiling, she ruffled his hair, which brought a peaceful smile back to her from the little boy's face.

"Looks like Belle and Adam arrived about five minutes ago and are going to forego a group dinner," Cinderella reported to those on the balcony as well as her husband, whom had settled himself on one of the sofas to read a newspaper. "Same goes for my sister and Marc and-um-Aurora and Philip will be here shortly with Odette, but Kristen and Stephan are staying behind since the little prince has yet to wake up again."

King Charming chuckled. "Yes, let's just hope he sleeps through to tomorrow by this point," he said with a smirk, turning a page of the newspaper. "I wouldn't want to be in Kristin's shoes if he wakes up at three AM!"

Rolling her eyes, Cinderella hit him lightly in the shoulder, making both Dorian and Jenny grin.

Soon enough they were joined by not only King Philip, Queen Aurora, and Princess Odette, but one of the resort's top chefs. Cinderella let out a quiet sigh as she and Jenny took neighboring seats at the dinner table. "All I'd thought we'd do is have sandwiches," she confided as the rest of the kings talked of jovial subjects and Aurora minded the children. "Instead, they send up a gourmet chef. Not that it's a _bad_ thing, but sometimes I'd really just prefer simplicity over pomp and circumstance."

Jenny offered a chuckle of comfort, which made the queen smile, before all attention was taken by the chef who promptly demonstrated his culinary skills in making sandwiches far fancier than any restaurant Jenny had ever seen.

As the evening settled in and the stars took their place, even though the company was wonderful and the food was delicious, Jenny found herself leaving for her own room not too long after dessert. It was amazing how much energy was used up in traveling. Even more amazing was how wonderful the hot water of the shower felt and how soft the bed was with its many pillows. A better night's rest she was sure she'd never have. And she was right.

_**A/N:**__ And so it's time for a vacation!_


	24. Chapter 24

It Happened in a Mousedom (part 24)

The next morning, Jenny woke up to the sun shining warmly through her balcony window and the soft chirping of cheerful birds in some nearby tree. It would have been hard not to smile from her very comfortable bed even if she'd been grouchy at first light. But, all in all, she couldn't think of a better way to wake up. Though, she had the strangest feeling that she needed to remember the dream she'd had, but the details were fading away as quickly as morning dew. So she took her time getting ready for the day.

She'd just pinned her hair up when a small rapid knocking happened upon her door, only to be joined by two more forces knocking at their own quick tempos. She blinked in surprise, but soon found herself smiling as she heard a reprimand.

"Okay, okay, children," a hushed voice said. "Stop. Miss Jenny might be sleeping, you know."

"No, she's not," Dorian reported in full confidence. "She _never_ sleeps later than me."

"Us too!" a little voice chirped.

"And she said she was going to join us for breakfast," Dorian continued his argument.

Wanting to spare the "Vacation Nanny" a war, Jenny quietly opened the door with a chuckle to find the three royal children facing off against a young brunette woman. Strangely, Jenny found herself sighing in relief as she recognized the young woman was the Kristen she'd met in her secretarial training course. Only little Prince Stephan noticed that Jenny had joined them, though, and grinned at her as he held out his arms.

Jenny smiled back and quickly scooped the small child onto her hip, then she held a finger to her lips so the prince would be quiet while they waited for negotiations to cease. After all, hashing it out with nannies could be counted as practice for the future king.

"Which starts at eight o'clock," Dorian was reasoning out.

"But this is a vacation," Kristen reminded him. "She might want to sleep in a little."

"Miss Jenny doesn't sleep in," the prince objected.

"And even if she did, she'd be up by now," Princess Odette quipped. "It's nearly nine-thirty!"

Dorian nodded in agreement. To which, Jenny caught Kristen's eye and smirked. "Well," she said, making the children spin around to stare before large smiles lit up their faces. "I can't argue with that logic, can I? Who is ready for breakfast?"

"Me!" Dorian and Odette chorused, bouncing on their toes and raising their hands as high as they could reach.

Jenny chuckled to herself and turned to get her room key, only pausing in route to pick up the bouncy ball she'd found in her bag. "Alright," she announced, replacing Stephan by his sister, "Lead the way, your highnesses."

With a loud cheer, the elder children bolted down the hall with Stephan between them while Jenny and Kristen walked along behind. Shaking her head with a smile, Jenny held out the bouncy ball. "This is one of Dorian's, I think," she said. "He let loose a bout fifty before we left the castle yesterday, it must have bounced into my bag."

Kristen chuckled, bemused as she shook her head. "I'll hold onto it for him," she promised with a smile. "It's nice to see you again, Jenny. I've only had a few hours with the prince, but he seems very fond of you."

Jenny blushed at the compliment, but nodded in thanks. "He's a great boy," she said with a shrug. "Good luck keeping him in line."

"Headstrong?" Kristen wondered.

"One of the most decided children I've met," Jenny admitted with a nod.

"Well this sounds fun," Kristen muttered, then gave a snort of laughter which brought a smile to Jenny's face. "I'll call on you if I need backup."

Jenny laughed and nodded as they joined the children who had waited for them atop the stairs, or moreso the elder two were trying to convince Stephan to walk down the stairs. But the two year old wasn't having it and Jenny found herself scooping the child up again, wherein the boy happily curled against her shoulder.

The rest of their walk to the 1900's Park Faire restaurant was filled with Odette and Dorian's chatter about everything they wanted to do for their vacation. Which didn't stop even as the two worked on their heavily embellished Mickey Mouse shaped waffles.

"I want to go to the arcade!" Dorian announced around a mouthful of waffle and strawberry.

"But they've got croquet!" Odette pointed out, swallowing her own bite before pulling the property map in front of both their breakfasts. "We should do croquet and then a high-tea for lunch."

Dorian scrunched his nose. "But I don't want tea!"

"Fine, then, you can have juice," Odette said, waving her hand at him dismissively as she took up her fork again and began skewering blueberries. "But I'll have tea. Or maybe we'll do a picnic."

"What's all this 'we' stuff?" Dorian demanded, folding his arms. "You go do that stuff, I'm going to the arcade."

"Dorian," Jenny cut in gently around her cup of tea. "You only have one nanny with you. It would be easier on Miss Kristen if you stay together."

The prince made a disgruntled noise, but a sheepish blush came to his face as he nodded. Then the two children went back to negotiating their day behind the map as the remainder of their waffles went cold. Kristen gave Jenny an appreciative glance, which Jenny returned with a smile before her attention was brought to the toddler on her right. Poor little Prince Stephan had fallen asleep in his place, his golden hair now full of oatmeal.

A second glance at Kristen brought the vacation nanny's eyes to the boy as well, and a despairing smile as the elder children announced what it was they'd decided on.

"We're going to play croquet first," Odette informed the women.

"Then play horseshoes," Dorian added.

"And then have tea," Odette agreed.

"And then the arcade!" Dorian cheered.

"Really?" Kristen said with a smile. "Well, that might have to wait-."

"Until you've finished your breakfasts," Jenny interrupted, smiling brightly as the three sets of eyes turned towards her. "It looks like Stephan's fallen asleep, though, so I'll take him back up to bed and you two can show Miss Kristen how to play."

"Oh no! Stephie!" Odette gasped upon seeing her brother, though Dorian hid his snickering behind his hands.

"Okay," said the prince after a moment. "C'mon, Dettie! We need to get the best mallets."

"You're sure?" Kristen asked quietly as the two set into their plates again. "It's your vacation, too, you know."

Jenny simply finished her tea and gave the other woman a smile. "I know, and it's not like a little sleeping boy can disrupt that."

Kristen chuckled in agreement as Jenny got to her feet, placing a napkin over the crook of her neck before hoisting the little boy up for him to curl onto her shoulder again. The movement did nothing to wake the child, if anything she could have sworn he'd let out a happy little sigh before his thumb passed between his lips.

~~°o°~~

Jenny was perfectly fine with the little boy nestled on her shoulder. She'd always loved it when Aurora would bring the kids when she'd visited Belle back in France and, really, on that note Stephan had known her since birth so she understood why he was so comfortable with her. And she was comfortable too, the toddler just seemed to fit so perfectly into the crook of her arm.

So it really wasn't a far stretch to find herself keeping the prince for the day while Dorian and Odette dragged Kristen off to the far reaches of the resort. Stephan, after getting cleaned and waking back up, was easy to entertain. She brought him around the lobby, where several gift shops and specialty stores welcomed them to browse. With the little boy's sleepy help, Jenny quickly picked out gifts for numerous people-including those who were present for this vacation.

They took extra time in the children's shop, which had a small area of display toys that the prince could actually play with. Eventually, Jenny found herself sitting on the floor for at least an hour with a toy truck while Stephan conducted her where to have it drive so it either did or didn't meet up with his buss. The shop keepers seemed to enjoy the interaction just as much, even when other shoppers entered. And, often enough, if children spotted them, they'd join in too.

It wasn't long before there was a whole host of them playing on the floor along with a few additional parents. But Jenny made sure to pull the prince away, waving good bye to all their new friends, so they could go down to one of the family friendly restaurants for some lunch. Which, of course, was followed by a nap. During which Jenny settled herself out on her balcony with some tea while Stephan curled up within her pile of pillows.

She knew it was strange, still theoretically "working" even while she was on vacation, but this sort of work she didn't quite know how to live without. It wasn't like she wasn't relaxing. After all, she was resting out on a beautiful personal balcony in a comfortable wicker chair and a personal pot of tea while the warm summer-like breeze played with her loose curls. But still, she was fairly sure Taryn and Mara would object and try to find something that more solidly fit into the definition of a single woman's vacation.

Probably something to do with the spa. Honestly, Jenny had never been to a spa. Belle preferred spending time in her library to relieve stress and Cinderella never had time, so she hadn't even been to one while working. But she also wasn't incredibly sure she'd like it.

Jenny pulled her thoughts back to the present, sipping the deliciously spicy tea as she looked out over the beautiful resort again. This was her vacation, she reminded herself. If relaxing meant looking after the youngest prince, who was anyone to object?

So the day went, finding small things to take the boy's considerable attention span with intermittent breaks for naps. Really, all-in-all, Jenny couldn't have thought up a more relaxing afternoon. And soon enough she was with Kristen and the elder children again as they got ready for dinner.

That evening was spent in a private room of the resort's top restaurant, Victoria & Albert's. A restaurant which Jenny was very sure she'd never have been able to afford (let alone consider) if it hadn't been for the company she was in. And what a merry bunch they were! Stories and jokes made way for pleasant conversations all around the table. Though a quick bit of whispering between Cinderella and her sister left Jenny puzzling at the sigh and slight frown on the Queen's face. But as soon as she noticed that she was under surveillance, Cinderella's smile came back full force.

"Now what's this I'm hearing about a boarder treaty with Marvel?" Philip's voice caught the young secretary's attention as a steward filled the king's wine glass. "I thought negotiations had ceased since the last summit."

"They had," Charming agreed, then motioned to Adam with his fork. "But it seems our friend here has kindred spirits over there that are, ah, in positions of persuasion."

Adam broke into a large grin and lowered his own glass as his fellow Frenchman looked to him. "My story is apparently a popular one over there," he conceded. "I met Mr McCoy several years ago when he was still adjusting to his... abilities as what they call a 'mutant'. Apparently their physical oddities are caused by chemicals and genetics, not magic."

"Really?" Philip asked, his eyebrows shooting upward. Jenny's did as well, she wasn't trying to listen in (seeing as how she couldn't make heads or tales of it anyway) but it was rather hard not to when their voices resonated so much. "And you've met with him?"

"Boarders in our corner of the Empire weren't as secure back then," Adam said with a shrug.

"The doctor goes by the name 'Beast' now at times," Charming informed the flabbergasted king with a bemused smirk.

Philip slowly nodded, though a frown crossed his features. "But how does this bring in a new attempt at a treaty?"

"Tony Stark wants to take his girlfriend on vacation," Charming answered.

"Stark?" Philip repeated. "Isn't he half the reason the first negotiations fell through?"

"Well, him and the fact that connecting Disney and Marvel would bring in new dangers that I'm not that sure we're ready for," Charming said, setting aside his utensils to focus on the debate. "We're already having difficulties with our boarders against the villains within the Dreamworks Empire. I don't know that Hercules or the Li's will be able to maintain the safety of our Empire if we tie into Marvel."

"Oh, come on, Charming," Adam sighed. "It wouldn't be as though all evils of Marvel will suddenly decide that we're a prime real estate for their antics! We have our own superheroes here too."

"And our own villains," Charming reminded. "In all, that should be enough! Lately-!"

"Boys," Cinderella cut in with a sweet, but firm voice. "I thought we agreed, no business talk this vacation. All your arguments can wait until the summit."

Jenny looked to the queen and blushed, feeling as though she'd been caught listening to the conversation, but Belle was still describing a book she'd recently started reading and it was fairly easy to pretend she was following along. Even if her thoughts went back to the Kings' conversation, wondering if the issues their boarders were having against Dreamworks were as troublesome as it sounded.

Cinderella was a formidable force, though, and the Kings quickly switched to the topic of competitive sport. A conversation which they pulled Marc into and soon had agreed upon a friendly wager for a round of golf in the morning. Jenny, meanwhile, had been taken into confidences with Anastasia and the Queens who were looking into the rest of the evening's events. Though it was a very relaxing place, being a Saturday night, the Grand Floridian Resort was known for the exquisite music that filled the lobby once eight o'clock hit. Soon the lively sounds of a eight piece band would rejuvenate those who might be lagging, even so far as to create and impromptu dance.

"I wanna stay," Dorian voiced when he caught wind that he'd be sent to bed by that point.

"Me too!" Odette announced, though a stern look from her mother sent the little girl's eyes back to her nearly empty plate.

"Perhaps the last night of our trip," Cinderella offered. "If you behave."

The children's faces lit up as they exchanged glances, both nodding in favor of the idea as waiters brought their ice cream. Little Stephan lasted only a moment after the dessert arrived, where he got two bites in and Jenny had barely alerted Kristen early enough for the nanny to manage catching him before the two year old's face met his pudding.

Not long after, once the sleepy children followed Kristen upstairs, Jenny found herself seated on a very comfortable couch as wonderful jazz music flowed through the room more pleasantly than any she'd heard in her life. Later, as she strolled along to her room with a sleepy smile, she couldn't help imagining that the music was following her steps. And, if anyone were to have seen her, they may have noticed the strange sparkle that trailed at her heels.

~~°o°~~

"Jack! Watch out!"

The white haired boy would've turned too late to see the danger if the large rabbit hadn't thrown a boomerang as he'd spoke. As it was, his reaction time was already delayed as the shadow king raised his scythe to strike.

Mortified by what could happen, Jenny reached out her hand, pulling the dark weapon back with all her strength. But what she saw was a tendril of glowing, gold sand. Making her let go sooner than she'd have liked, but as she spun to follow the stream of gold she saw a little golden man with hair that looked like rays of the sun. Though none of the others had been able to see her, this little man seemed to know she was there and he cast her a smile before tutting the boogeyman and flinging him skyward.

Within moments the children from earlier in the battle appeared, making Jenny realize that she was in some sort of park. Then the guardians arrived, the white-haired boy flying in like the elusive Peter Pan. Even more so now, Jenny couldn't shake the feeling that she knew this guardian somehow. That there was more she just wasn't putting together.

But it was too late. Even as she reached out to touch the boy's cheek, dreams were being set free. Gold sand swirled over the town, creating all sorts of creatures that jumped and flew and walked through the silent streets as though they'd always been there. Jack unconsciously turned towards her, smiling up at her as she felt her own consciousness break into fractals that were quickly carried away by the golden sand.

_**A/N:**__ Well this chapter kinda went sideways. *goes cross-eyed* Uh... Well. Yeah, I think my brain broke. Guess that's what happens when you're trying to combine over 150 plotlines. O_o Happy New Year, people! *blows kisses*_


	25. Chapter 25

It Happened in a Mousedom (part 25)

Jenny awoke with the morning's light, feeling entirely rested and strangely... accomplished. Though she couldn't explain why. As the warm rays of sunlight lit up the decadent wall paper, she let her mind wander back to the dream she could barely remember. It was the same dream she'd been having since the night after Easter, though now it had been more vivid with it's details. Something about... a battle? But there'd been more. Something important that was just beyond her mind's reach. Hidden deep in the fog of her memories.

"Someday I'll figure it all out," she sighed to the ceiling. Then again, with things like that plaguing her mind, maybe it would be better if she didn't.

Either way, for now she'd have to be content with the perpetual state of confusion she called her life. So, after a few more minutes in the plush heaven of her bed, Jenny pulled herself out of bed and off to get dressed.

It was at breakfast that Jenny discovered a problem. She didn't really know what to do with herself. Kristen had managed to keep the children from even coming near her door, let alone attempting to break it down. And by the time she'd finished her pistachio muffin and gone in search of Cinderella, her employer was dressed and ready to spend the day on the lake-side beach.

"It's not that I don't enjoy free time," Jenny explained to the surprised look on the queen's face. "It's just I don't know what to do with it."

The queen blinked at Jenny in surprise, but soon gave her a bemused smile and shrugged. "You're more than welcome to join us," she said cheerfully, stepping out into the hallway with her towel over her arm and a thin skirt over the bottom of the swim suit. "Aurora and I were planning on sun-tanning before we go meet up with Belle for lunch."

Jenny wasn't a person for tanning, by any stretch of the imagination, but she smiled and nodded. At least it would give her something to do. More or less. Even if she was fully dressed and not at all ready for the beach.

They met up with Aurora at the railing looking down over the lobby, the slender queen was turning heads with her sleek pink one piece swimsuit and flowy wrap-skirt though she didn't seem to notice from beneath her large straw hat. She cast them a radiant smile before meeting them with hugs and leading the way out into the warm spring sun.

Taking up seats along the lakeside, Cinderella and Aurora indulged in a relaxing morning under the sun while informing Jenny of how much their children adored the previous day. Especially Stephan, even if the little boy had been asleep for most of it. Pointing that out, though, had somehow strangely lead the conversation into the direction of Jenny's dream.

"It was just really strange," Jenny said after telling what little she could remember about a battle with sand and a white haired boy. "I felt... as though I knew him somehow..."

"But you can't place him at all?" Cinderella confirmed with a thoughtful frown. "Do you think it's a memory?"

Jenny sighed and shrugged. "I couldn't tell you either way... Perhaps I've been listening to the Darling's stories too much."

The queens chuckled softly at the plausible possibility.

"I must say," Aurora commented, tossing her large sun-hat further down her lounge chair. "It's rather ironic that you'd dream of snow in this weather! Not even noon and it's near stifling!"

Both Jenny and Cinderella laughed as the queen sprawled dramatically back across the cushions with a hand to her forehead. Aurora flashed them a grin, then quirked her head on angle to look beyond them.

"What is it, Rory?" Cinderella asked through remaining giggles. "You look confused."

"Perhaps I am," Aurora said, pushing herself up to sitting again. "But... is that Mr Bennett over there? On the steps from the garden to the sand?"

Jenny glanced at her employer's wondering expression before turning in the direction that Aurora had pointed out. Her hart skipped and began racing. True enough, in a three piece suit of teal and looking as entirely out of place as she was, stood Dan Bennett gazing across the water.

"I believe it is," Cinderella said slowly.

Jenny could only nod, feeling as though her face was starting to burn.

"Well, let's say hello then!" Aurora suggested cheerfully and the next thing Jenny knew, both queens were on their feet. "Yoo-hoo! Mr Bennett!"

She might as well have plunged her face into flames for all the heat it gave as those familiar eyes turned towards them. Dan blinked in surprise for a moment before he gave them a charming smile and started forward across the sand despite his shoes.

"Your majesties," he greeted, giving a small bow. "Miss Doe. It's a pleasure to see you. Are you enjoying your day?"

"Oh immensely," Aurora quipped.

"And yourself?" Cinderella asked, smiling congenially.

Dan cast Jenny a glance and she gave him a small smile. His cheeks had taken a slight pinkish color, as had his ears, though Jenny did reason with her self that it could have been from the sun. "Oh, uh, yes," he responded, flashing a smile. "Yes, just enjoying the grounds."

"They are wonderful aren't they?" Cinderella sighed, giving Jenny a pointed glance.

"Beautiful," the secretary managed to agree. Dan met her gaze and nodded in agreement. He really did have such beautiful eyes and the shy expression on his face was truly endearing.

"You know, Jenny," Cinderella said, eyeing the pair with a smirk. "I don't think I need a tight schedule today."

Jenny's eyes widened and she looked at the queen worriedly. "What? But-."

"Oh go on, Jenny," Cinderella said, giving her a nudge. "Aurora, Belle and I are off to the spa for the next few hours anyway. Maybe you can show Mr. Bennett around, since you've been here a day longer than him."

Dan went pink, so did Jenny. Aurora giggled from her chair. "Suppose we head over early," she said, getting up to link arms with Cinderella. "I'd love to schedule a couples massage for after the men complete their golf match."

With that said, the two princesses turned and waved over their shoulders as they retreated to the beautiful building. Jenny and Dan stared after them until the queens disappeared around the corner. Then Jenny tried to distract herself by picking up Aurora's book and Cinderella's shoes and other items the queens had left behind, but her hand quickly bumped into Dan's as they reached for Aurora's hat.

"Oh, sor-."

"Sorry," Dan said quickly and picked up the hat for her. Jenny stared at him for a moment, his arms were laden with at least half of the items already. He blushed. "I suppose we should return these to their majesties' suites."

Jenny smiled, feeling the blush burn hotter in her cheeks. "Yes, I think we should."

"After you, then, Miss Doe," Dan said, giving her a small bow.

She bit her bottom lip to keep from giggling as she walked past him to the walkway. One quick glance back nearly brought her nose into Dan's shoulder, making her blush even harder, but she strangely loved the tingly feeling it was giving her.

They walked in silence, but for some reason it wasn't as uncomfortable as other times-though she had no clue why. It wasn't until after they'd gotten to the bustling hotel and dropped off the queens' things with the concierge that either of them made a sound, and that was in response to a rag-doll falling on Dan's head.

"What-?"

"Oops!" a little voice giggled from above.

Jenny and Dan looked up to see little Princess Odette, Prince Dorian, and Prince Stephan smiling down at them from the first balcony up.

"Hi, Miss Jenny!" Dorian called down to them, waving his hand above the rail. The other two broke into giggles, which Dorian quickly joined in.

Dan and Jenny looked at each other, the rag-doll still on Dan's head. Then Jenny started laughing too. Dan looked puzzled for a second, but he slowly started laughing too.

As they stopped for breath, Dan took the doll off his head and took Jenny by the hand to lead her up the grand staircase. At the top of the steps the three little royals were standing in a row with angelic little smiles.

"Now don't you three look innocent," Jenny commented, putting her hands on her hips. The three children giggled.

"I believe this belongs to one of you," Dan said, holding up the rag-doll.

Odette grinned and pulled the doll close. "Thank you, Mr. Bennet."

"Your welcome," Dan said, smiling and bent forward so his head was at the same level as the children's. "But could you tell me why little Rosie landed on my head?"

"Dorian dropped her," Odette said, narrowing her eyes at the prince.

"I did _not_" Dorian crowed. "She was walking a tight-rope!"

Jenny exchanged glances with Dan before she hoisted Stephan onto her hip and they started back down the stairs.

"Until you _let go_ of her and she fell!" Odette pointed out, holding her doll protectively on the furthest side of her body as they followed.

"She's not a very good tight-rope walker," Dorian said with a shrug.

"And now she's broken her bones!" Odette cried out, still glaring at Dorian.

"Oh, don't worry, little Princess," Dan assured her. "My hair is very soft."

"It is?" Odette looked up at Jenny hopefully as they reached the landing.

Jenny smiled. "Well, I can't vouge for that," she said and set Stephan back on the floor. "But I do know that ice cream often helps."

Instantly the three little royals brightened. Then each of the excited children took one of Jenny or Dan's hands, though little Stephan was in the middle and held onto both as they helped him skip down the rest of the steps and cross the lobby.

Jenny couldn't help smiling as she and Dan pulled Stephan up to float for every other step. She somehow felt much more at ease when the children were around, and she couldn't help seeing how at ease Dan was too.

~~°o°~~

"Dorian? Where's Miss Kristen?" Jenny asked, looking down at the prince after several minutes into their tasty treats.

The trio of little royals were enjoying their ice creams immensely, and it showed. All around the mouths on their little faces. So it took a moment before the elder of the two blonde princes looked up. "Umm," he articulated as he thought about their temporary nanny, then shrugged. "I dunno. She was with us at breakfast."

Jenny blinked to stare at the oblivious little boy, then looked at Dan. "You haven't seen her," she reiterated. "Since breakfast?"

"Nope," Odette chimed in, drawing the couple's attention as she pretended to feed her dolly a spoonful of strawberry ice cream.

"Free!" Stephan agreed, hoisting his spoon into the air triumphantly. Oh yes, this was definitely Philip's son. And he probably hadn't had a nap yet.

Jenny fought the urge to groan, smiling instead at the little boy's antics. "Oh boy," she sighed, then looked back at Dan. "What should we do now? Their majesties won't be back for a few hours."

Dan pondered this as he ate a spoonful of ice cream and Jenny followed suit. "I don't know," he said finally. "I had wanted to look into this parasailing that Marc told me about."

"On a boat?!" Dorian all but leapt from his chair at the idea.

Chuckling, Dan nodded. "Yes, on a boat."

"I wanna go too!" Dorian announced, turning his pleading eyes on the adults. "Can I come?"

"Me too," Odette agreed, giving her most adorable face. "Please?"

"Boat! Boat!" Stephan cheered.

"Now wait just a minute there, your highnesses," Jenny said. "I don-."

"And Miss Jenny, too!" Dorian and Odette chorused.

Dan turned to Jenny with a smirk. "What do you say, Miss Doe?" he asked. "Want to join us on this adventure?"

"Please?" begged the kids, looking their most adorable.

"We won't even be royals," Dorian offered. "You can pretend I'm your nephew!"

Jenny gave him a tired smirk.

"And I'll be your niece!" Odette agreed. "And Stephan can be your other nephew."

"Something tells me you've put too much thought into this," Jenny pointed out. Again they turned their pleading eyes on her and Jenny inwardly groaned as she felt herself cave in. "Oh alright."

"Yes!" Dorian and Odette cheered and Stephan clapped happily.

"Just as soon as you're done with your ice creams, we'll go find your swimwear," Jenny said, moving to keep the prince she'd come to know so well from leaving the table in his excitement.

Dorian gave her an impish smile, then plunged back into his sundae with a vigor that was easily shared by his fellow royals. Jenny sighed and looked to Dan, but he was nearly ready to burst out laughing. Fighting a smirk she elbowed him and returned to eating her own ice cream.

Not even ten minutes later the kids had led the way, racing as fast as they could, towards the royal suites. It took them maybe five minutes to hunt down and change into each swimsuit. Then they gathered anything they could think of needing into a large tote bag and the whole group was bounding off to the boat docks in a far shorter time than Jenny would have thought possible. But she found herself enjoying the strange chemistry they had together. It really was like they were playing house and she really couldn't ask for more.

A perfect break from reality.

~~°o°~~

"Dorian, be careful," Jenny called as she was helped into the boat. Little Stephan had decided he liked her holding him and simply refused to be put down, which made things a little more challenging, but Dan was a great help as he took her hand.

Across the small deck, the young prince gave her a sheepish smile and quickly clasped his hands behind his back. She raised a questioning eyebrow at him, but smiled back as she and Dan sat down on the boat's comfortable benches. Next to the prince, Odette giggled and set up her doll in its own seat. Jenny couldn't help chuckling as she took out her camera, taking a pictures of everyone in their life vests, which somehow included the princess's doll.

"Hello! My name is Nemo and I'll be your skipper for today," the boat's captain announced, his white suit practically blinding in the sunlight as he rubbed his hands together excitedly. "Everybody ready to go?"

"Yep!" Dorian declared.

Captain Nemo looked at him in surprise, then shook his head. "Uh-oh," he said. "I don't think we're ready yet."

"Why not?" Odette asked in alarm.

Jenny looked up curiously, but soon smiled at the playful twinkle in the Skipper's eyes. Dan grinned.

"You can't go sailin if you're talking like landlubbers!" the captain objected and folded his arms. "Now, the proper sea-fairing term is 'aye-aye'. Got that? Yeah? Alright, let's give it another try. Everybody ready to go?"

"Aye-aye!" Dorian and Odette shouted.

"Oh, I don't think I heard Mom and Dad say anything," the Captain teased, making Odette and Dorian giggle with delight. Jenny could feel her face burning, not that anyone could see it in this sun, but for some reason neither she nor Dan tried to correct the jolly captain. "C'mon folks! All together! Ready to go?"

"Aye-aye!" They chorused loudly.

"Much better!" Captain Nemo said with a grin.

"Aye-aye," Stephan chimed in from where he was still using Jenny as a pillow.

The skipper chuckled. "Nicely said, sailor," he said, then smiled around at each of his audience. "Alright, now that we've got some terms down, like I said, I'm your skipper-Captain Nemo. With me is my second in command, Frank. In case anything goes wrong or I meet a mermaid and leave the boat, Frank here'll get you back to the resort. If you meet another mermaid and Frank leaves the ship too, well then we're passing the wheel to this sailor!" He clapped a hand onto Dorian's shoulder, who was grinning ear to ear, then turned to Jenny and Dan. "How does that make you feel, Mom and Dad? Yeah, I'd be concerned too."

Jenny laughed and Dan ruffled Dorian's curls.

"Now don't get too many ideas about swimming in this lagoon, folks," Captain Nemo continued as the lanky ginger sailor named Frank, who'd been occupied getting the boat ready, started up the engine. "As it turns out there's gators in them there waters, so if you're going swimming, pay attention to the signs around the area for the spaces that are monitored by the resort. Which are most of them, so no real reason to worry. Just giving a heads up and I'll point out any of our critter friends if I see them while we're out and about. Nice to see you're all wearing your life vests, definitely a helpful thing to have while you're out roaming the seas! I'm guessing Lydia gave them to you, right? Yep, she's a fine lady that Lydia. My favorite girl in port..."

Jenny nestled back into the cushions as the captain invented a song about the frizzy haired woman who worked in the booth at the docks and Frank pulled the boat out into open water. A split second later she had to fight the urge to jump away from the seat-back again.

Dan had his arms draped along the rail of the boat, behind both Jenny and the two royals not attached to her side. It hadn't been until she felt the warmth of his arm touch hers that she'd even noticed where his arms were. But now, with Stephan inching closer to a nap and the Captain already assuming they were a family, moving seemed like an inconvenient option if they wanted to keep the kids' identity a secret.

So she forced herself to relax and not focus on the nearly electrical charge that the contact created. Instead she focused on the wind as it tried to play with her hair and they sped out further into the Seven Seas Lagoon.

"...and once we're closer to the center of the water, where you'll actually be able to see the Magic Kingdom," the captain was saying over the wind and the engine, "we'll invade the birds' space, sound good?"

"Aye-aye!" Dorian and Odette cheered.

"You've got the hang of it!" Captain Nemo praised, making the kids deliriously happy. Then he glanced over at Jenny and Dan and a smirk came to his face. "Uh-oh, it looks like we lost our smallest sailor, ey, Mom?"

"I guess so," Jenny agreed with a smile as she checked the small boy curled up on her shoulder.

"Well, once he's a little further off into Neverland, we'll see if we can't free you for a chance to fly, ey?" The captain said with a chuckle, then turned to the other two kids as the boat slowed down again. "Alright! Who's going up first?"

For all their excitement, Dorian and Odette suddenly went shy at the idea of being the first into the air.

"Nobody?" the captain asked incredulously, then smirked. "You can't go by yourselves, of course," he informed them. "You're just a bit too young. So I guess that means you, Dad."

Dan carefully extracted himself from the cluster and gave the kids an encouraging grin. "Who wants to go with me?"

Odette and Dorian exchanged looks for a moment, then Dorian got to his feet with an impish grin. "Okay," he said. "I'm with you... _Dad_."

The comment made Jenny and Dan laugh, and soon the two were getting fitted for harnesses with Frank and Captain Nemo. As they watched, Odette tucked herself under Jenny's arm with a smile and Jenny gave her a little hug.

When the men were ready and fully informed of what they needed to do while in the air, Frank started up the boat again. The wind rushed past them and filled the large chute, blowing their hair wildly in all directions. Jenny and Odette cheered from the sidelines, laughing and waving as Dorian and Dan slowly floated upward. Jenny even managed to get a few pictures in. And all the while, Stephan fell into a deeper sleep.

After maybe ten or fifteen minutes in the air, Dan and Dorian returned to the ship with an expert landing.

"Nicely done!" Captain Nemo cheered and crouched down in front of Dorian. "How'd you like the view, buddy?"

"It was so cool!" Dorian all but screamed, bouncing as he reported it.

Dan, Frank, and Captain Nemo chuckled at his response. Then Dan joined the girls and reached forward as an offer to take Stephan. Jenny looked down at Odette. "What do you think?" she asked with a confident smile. "Want to see what flying is like?"

Odette's eyes glittered with excitement as she nodded eagerly, her brown curls bobbing on her head.

"Alright, but first, let's tie your hair back so it's not all snarls when we come back down," Jenny suggested and quickly set to work tying the beautiful dark locks with a ribbon until it was almost a bun itself.

Then it was their turn to secure themselves into harnesses and be attached to any number of chords. Jenny's stomach was twisting with excitement when Frank finally went back to the wheel. Safely in place in front of her, Odette reached back to grab her fingers nervously. Jenny smiled and gave the girl a hug, pressing her cheek lightly against the brunette's head.

"Okay, Ladies," Captain Nemo said cheerfully. "Just wave to us when you want to come down!"

Just like that, the boat started forward and Jenny felt the tug as their chute opened. Slowly it floated upward as more and more air was driven past them and into the thick fabric.

And suddenly they were airborne. Odette let out a squeal of delight and Jenny couldn't help laughing at the strange sensation of floating upward. In no time at all the pair were drifting through the open blue sky as though they belonged there. The view was definitely something else and Jenny instantly wished she'd brought her camera. From above the wide expanse of water, you could see the Grand Floridian resort in all its glory basking in the early summer sunlight.

Far off beyond the red and white hotel to the east, you could just make out the exotic structure of the Polynesian Resort. Below them, the boat looped around and headed back into the open water, changing the parasailers' view. If you had binoculars you could probably see the roof-top flags of the Wilderness Lodge, but the girls' attentions were quickly pulled to the large and angular Contemporary resort, where a monorail was just departing.

"Look!" Odette squeaked happily, point to the north.

Jenny followed the direction and felt a strange happiness as they took in the beautiful view of the far off Magic Kingdom. You could easily see the train station and Monorail dock, even though they were very small. But really the only other thing you could see was the prominent castle, though it was even smaller.

"Its beautiful," Jenny commented and Odette nodded enthusiastically in agreement.

Not too long later, the girls found themselves back on deck, where Dorian and Odette chattered enthusiastically about the experience. Both eagerly agreeing they wanted to go again, which the captain assured them they could someday. Dan gave Jenny a smile.

"Parasailing agrees with you," he commented, shifting the sleeping boy against his shoulder.

Jenny nodded, knowing that she was beaming as she offered to take the two year old back. Dan checked the little prince, but shook his head to say he didn't mind carrying him for a while.

"Alrighty," the captain's loud voice announced as Frank set to work folding up the chute. "Looks as though we still have some time before we're due back," he said with a bright smile. "Who's up for a little tour of the south-west corner of the lagoon?"

"Me!" Odette and Dorian chorused, bouncing in their seats.

Captain Nemo turned his grin towards Jenny and Dan. "How 'bout it, Mom and Dad? Just a quick view of the Polynades?"

"Well," Jenny said slowly, glancing at Dan who gave her a smirk.

"Please?!" the youngsters begged with bright eyes at her side.

Jenny smiled "Alright," she said, which resulted in two cheers. "But we have to be back at our resort by four so we can get ready for dinner."

"Never fear, m'lady!" the captain said heroically. "This tour'll get us there at 16-hundred on the dot!"

"Sixteen-hundred?" Odette quirried, looking up to Jenny for an explanation as the captain turned to help speed up the repacking process, but it was Dorian who answered.

"Military time," he said. "Dad says the military don't like using AM and PM so they just keep going up after noon. Right?"

Now he looked up too, anxious to be correct, and Dan nodded. "That's right."

"So that means... four o'clock?" Odette wondered.

"Smart girl," the captain praised with a grin. "Alright," he said, getting a nod from Frank for having tucked the chute away. "Everyone ready to see the wonders of the lagoon?"

"Aye-aye!" Odette and Dorian cheered.

"Then everyone to your stations and let's get going, Frank!" the Captain announced. The redheaded first-mate nodded with a half smile and revved the engine, turning the boat south as they sped along.

"Welcome to the Polynades!" the captain announced as the sprawling hotel grew larger. "One of the most exotic destinations I know of! Home to the best luau in the Empire, if you ever get the chance, I highly recommend getting a seat!"

"Can we?" Dorian asked and Odette's bright eyes were enough to know she liked the idea too.

"Not tonight," Jenny informed them with a smirk. "We already have dinner plans, remember?"

"Oh yeah," they said, neither looking all that excited about rejoining their parents. Jenny smiled and ruffled Dorian's hair, making him smile again and return his attention to the scenery.

The captain was a great tour guide and he pointed out all sorts of things that held the little royals enthralled. Especially when they passed a heavily overgrown area on their way back towards the Grand Floridian and the captain informed them that it was actually a gateway to the Neverland. Which, of course, got them begging to evade their evening plans again.

But true to his word, as four o'clock drew nearer, the small group found themselves cruising along the coast of the Grand Floridian before heading towards the rental docks.

"Can we go swimming?" Dorian asked as Frank brought them into port. "Please? We didn't get to go yet!"

"Dorian," Jenny sighed.

"Please?" Odette joined in. "Rosie hasn't seen the pool!"

Jenny looked down at the doll as the boat idled down and then turned off, then looked up at Dan (who was clearly enjoying watching the authority being given to her far too much) and smirked. "Your choice," she announced. "We have to be ready for dinner no later than five-fifteen."

Dan mulled it over, making a bit of a ham of himself as the children tried their best to show winning expressions. Then he grinned at them. "I don't see why not," he said, much to their delight. "After all, that's well over an hour away. We'll do a quick swim, then let them dry off."

As Jenny climbed out of the boat and took Stephan (whom was still quite content to sleep the following hours away) so that Dan could help the other two, she couldn't help sighing in defeat. There was no such thing as a quick swim when involving kids.

_**A/N:**__ Here's a rather warm chapter for those of us who are stuck in the polar vortex of winter! Don't they make an adorable family? ^_^ Hopefully it flows well, a good portion of this was written... well... a long time ago... _


	26. Chapter 26

It Happened in a Mousedom (part 26)

"Cannon ball!" Dorian shouted moments before he hit the water with a large splash, drenching both Dan and Odette.

Jenny laughed at them from the shallow end, not that they were all that far into deep since the water only came midway up Dan's chest-an observation that made Jenny blush. She was sitting on the steps with a groggy Stephan who (though now awake) was fully content splashing in the water at her side. So Jenny tried to focus her efforts on getting the little boy back to alert before they had to go to dinner and making sure Rosie (whom was seated precariously on the edge of the pool) didn't fall into the water.

It was a little strange, but the pool area was mostly deserted. There were a few families, but they had older kids and kept to the far deep end, and there were a few couples who focused on swimming laps or soaking in the hot-tub nearby. Otherwise, they had the pool strangely to themselves.

"Alright," Dan announced, breathless from playing with the two young royals. "That's it for me."

"Ohh," the prince and princess groaned.

Dan gave them a smile. "I'll swim some more later, how's that?"

The idea of later made both of the kids grin.

"How about we all stay in the shallows now?" Jenny suggested. "We've only got a few more minutes."

There was another groan, but the kids followed the suggestion and were soon playing in water shallow enough for them to stand in. Dan, meanwhile, floated over to join her on the steps. "Not even an hour of play," he sighed, wiping some of his water-logged hair off his face. "And suddenly I feel a thousand years old."

Jenny laughed and shook her head. "Kids will do that," she agreed. "I used to go straight to bed after days with Alice."

"I can certainly understand why," Dan chuckled, then gave her a smile. "You were a natural today."

"Lots of practice," Jenny assured him with a smile of her own. "You weren't too bad yourself."

Dan shrugged. "I have a niece and nephew," he revealed, though he looked like he was being careful while choosing his words. "I don't get to see them often these days, but I was usually the one who kept them distracted."

Jenny nodded in understanding. The fact that he was trying to hold back something was almost too obvious, but as Odette and Dorian splashed past them in a haphazard chase she could also feel that this wasn't the time or place to go into it.

A thoughtful pause took their conversation away, turning their attentions instead to the three children whom were happily giggling the end of their hour away.

~~°o°~~

"What do you mean?" Aurora asked, looking fairly alarmed. "What happened to Kristen?"

Dried, dressed, and all a-smile, Dan and Jenny had led the children back down from their hotel suites to meet with the elder royals. Now the whole group was congregating in the hotel's lobby. As they waited for their reservation to be called, Jenny and Dan made a report of the day's events.

"Nobody seems to know," Jenny answered quietly. "So far as the children claim, they haven't seen her since breakfast."

"Breakfast?" Aurora repeated, her purple eyes large. "But you left us at eleven thirty-you mean they were running around the hotel like savages for over two hours?"

"We were not!" Dorian defended from where the children sat in miniaturizations of numerous other chairs that could be seen throughout the lobby. The chairs faced a pint-sized entertainment unit, but now only little Stephan held any interest in the early features of Mr. Mouse's career. Odette and Dorian were looking back at the adults with defiant frowns.

Jenny cast them a smile, though she knew they were probably getting silent reprimands from everyone else. "No," she affirmed, turning back to the Kings and Queens. "Not quite savages. Simply as children who had nothing left to do."

Cinderella sighed, apparently it would take alot more before Jenny actually didn't defend time spent with children. She gave her secretary a smile. "Thank you, Jenny," she said. "And you, too, Mr Bennett. I'm sorry that it ruined your plans for the afternoon."

"Oh, but it didn't," Jenny and Dan objected quickly, only to be joined by Odette and Dorian's shouts.

"We did not!"

And with that, the two scrambled over to their pretend parents' side to present their defense. Very quickly, with the two children working in tandem, the story was quickly retold.

"We had lunch," Dorian said.

"And Ice cream!" Odette added.

"And went swimming!"

"But we went on the boat first."

"Right," Dorian agreed. "And the Captain called Jenny 'Mom'!"

"He thought we were a family," Jenny explained as the royal couples turned to her in confusion.

"And Dorian was in charge if the captain found a mermaid," Odette said with a giggle.

The queens gaped slightly and the kings choked back laughter.

"And Stephan slept through it all!" Odette finished.

The royal mothers smiled knowingly. "Alright, you win," Cinderella said, lightly tapping her son's nose as the restaurant's host approached. "You three certainly spiced up their day."

Dorian grinned in response, turning his gaze up to Jenny and Dan who smiled back. The prince took their hands, quickly joined by Odette and Stephan, and the children pulled them along after the host. Leading the way into the large dining room.

Jenny spent the rest of the night with the children on one side, Dan across from her, and the kings and queens on her other side. Even after dinner, while they took to the lobby with their coffees or teas to hear a more gentle verity of jazz, she found herself pinned on a sofa with Stephan sleeping against her shoulder again and Dorian using her lap as a pillow. Dan was only one child behind her as Odette had tucked herself against his arm.

That didn't stop the two from talking, though. Whispered jokes and stories flittered between them as time ticked by, quickly getting closer to ten.

"You had an aunt who added lavender to chicken?" Dan gaped at her latest comment.

Jenny giggled as she nodded, suddenly remembering that detail very clearly. She took a sip of her tea thoughtfully. "You know, I think I lived with her for a while."

"How so?" Dan asked, setting down his coffee to look at her with interest.

"Because I said something similar to King Charming," she told him. "Back... back at Dorian's birthday, I think. He wanted to thank me for helping the prince enjoy math."

"Ah, right," Dan agreed, nodding knowingly. "The cookies."

Jenny blushed slightly as she nodded, too. "I'd told him that I wasn't very good at math in school, but I'd imagine that I was baking with my Aunt in order to understand problems."

Dan's eyebrows raised, looking fairly impressed. "It seems your memories are definitely coming back."

"Yes," she agreed, gently combing her fingers through the hair of both boys she held. "Distant memories."

"It's better than nothing," Dan pointed out, making her smile. He smiled back and finished the last of his cup. "Well, not that I know too much about kids, but I think we might want to run these ones up to bed."

Jenny hummed in agreement. "I think you're right. Let's let the kings and queens enjoy their evening, though."

Dan nodded before scooting his arm to hook under the princess's legs like a seat, then he made his way over to Jenny's side. "If you can get him a little more upright, I can take him too."

"You're sure?" Jenny asked, raising her eyebrows at him.

He smiled. "They're still small enough."

She smiled back and helped as best she could to get the eight year old prince upright. Dorian's eyes fluttered a little and he started to look around, but sleep won out and even before his head came to rest on Dan's shoulder his eyes were closed again.

Jenny waited until Dan had straightened up from crouching before she got to her feet too, easily tucking the princess's dropped doll under her arm as she shifted Stephan's weight against her shoulder. Then Jenny quietly got a key to the royal suite from King Charming before the two make-believe parents slipped away to the nearest elevators.

"You must be a very good uncle," Jenny commented as they waited for an elevator.

What little she could see of Dan's face beyond the princess's waves of chestnut hair had lit up with a bright blush. "Not as good as I should be," he returned as the golden doors slid open. He wasted no time stepping inside and Jenny rushed to keep step with him. It wasn't until the doors closed behind them that he added, "But I suppose I could be worse."

Jenny regarded him curiously, but let the topic drop again.

"So," he said abruptly as they reached the top floor. "What are your plans for tomorrow?"

Glancing up at him, Jenny lead him down the hallway. "I don't know yet," she told him. "What about you?"

Dan managed to shrug. "I don't really know yet, either," he admitted. "I was thinking of maybe... maybe just going for a drive around the area. They have these wonderful cars here-and, well, King Charming and King Philip have said that we might be able to rent one for an hour or two."

"Really?" Jenny asked, intrigued as she stopped at the door to Aurora and Philip's family suite.

"Yes, or, well I'm sure one of the kings would have to put in the request for it," he explained. "I just thought it sounded like might be an interesting thing to do."

"It does," Jenny agreed.

"Well, then, would-would you like to join me?" he stammered out only for his blush to blaze brighter as Jenny looked up at him in the process of opening the royal suite's door. "I mean if you don't have plans! You know, because it sounds fun. And it should be nice out-I mean, of course it'll be nice out, we're at the Grand Floridian! It's barely ever not nice out. And, well, I just-if you think it might be nice to-."

Jenny smiled as she cut his rambling off with the gentle touch of her hand. The awkward invitation had carried from the suite door straight through to Dorian's room where she had already set Prince Stephan down on one of the two full-sized beds. The two children in Dan's arms snuggled closer in their sleep, both apparently comfortable with the idea of spending the night upon the good man's shoulders.

Realizing that there was still a task at hand, though, Dan gave a sheepish smile as Jenny pulled Odette from his arms. Then he set Dorian down on the opposite bed. It took her a moment or two, but soon enough Jenny found a few sets of the prince's night clothes which Dan helped her change each of the children into before they retreated to the living area of the suite.

"Yes," she said, even before she took her hand off the door knob to the children's room.

"Hmm?"

"To the car ride," she clarified, turning to face him with her own blush warming her cheeks. "I'd love to."

"Oh." He stared at her for a moment, as though he hadn't expected her to say yes and was having a hard time registering the change. But slowly a delighted smile came to his face. "Right, great! That's-that's excellent. I'll, uh, I'll talk to the concierge tomorrow, then."

Jenny smiled back at him, fighting down some giggles as she moved out to one of the balconies to wait for the king and queen to return. Dan blushed a little darker, but it seemed to bring his wits back as he joined her in the crisp night air. Below the peaceful evening strolled on with soft, muffled bits of music floated around the resort as guests made their way back to their rooms.

"You know," Jenny said after a moment or two. "I went for a walk around the gardens with Stephan yesterday. They've got so many flowers of all sorts of colors."

Dan nodded, either agreeing or acknowledging what she was saying but more so prodding her to continue.

"But they don't have purple ones," she said. Catching his confused gaze, she quickly added, "The roses, I mean."

"Purple roses?" he questioned.

Jenny nodded. "They're not so dark as violets-those are manufactured to look that way," she explained. "But I remember roses that were, well, maybe closer to a lilac color. I just don't know where."

"Well," Dan said slowly. "Perhaps when you find them, we'll know where you're from."

"It seems almost silly," she admitted, casting him a smile. "But I suppose it could be." Still, she couldn't help hoping he was right.

~~°o°~~

"Pitiful," the green woman sneered in disgust.

Before her, the grey skinned man glared at the large slabs of stone that created the floor of her decrepit hall. There were no more excuses that he could create, no more promises he could swear by, and no more reputation he could hide behind. His attempt against the five famous beings had been unsuccessful, in the harshest of ways.

"Dragged back here by your own fearlings," the woman summarized as though she could read his thoughts, her own yellowed eyes looking at him with distain. "And not a body to show for it. Such a disgrace to the forces of evil."

"Yes, well I would have succeeded, if it hadn't been for that little brat," the man snapped. "Jack-."

"Is a fourteen year old child!" the powerful woman returned, her voice resonating through the rafters. "Are you truly so inept?"

"I nearly killed him," he pointed out.

To this, the woman gave a spiteful chuckle. "Oh indeed," she agreed with a voice smooth as silk. "But you didn't. How can I rely on you when you couldn't manage to kill off one little snow spirit?"

"Yes, well, with no disrespect," the man groused. "But if you'd gotten the stone by then, I would have!"

Initially looking towards the raven who'd perched upon her armrest, the woman's sharp gaze snapped to him. "You dare to pin your losses on me?"

A moment passed in silence, bringing an unspoken conversation that rendered itself null and void.

Turning her gaze back to the raven, the woman spoke again. "As it turns out, this particular situation requires more... finesse, then originally planned," she announced. "She is the only one who knows where it is."

"And the amnesia?" he asked.

"Is merely a time constraint," she said, waving off all possible concern though she looked thoughtful. A moment later she looked up and snapped her fingers, summoning a swirling cloud of purple smoke. Which dissipated to reveal a man, younger than the first and much more human looking, who kneeled to the woman on the dais. He might have been considered handsome, if it weren't for the large scar on his cheek.

"My lady?" he greeted her, not lifting opening his eyes.

"The Summer Solstice is coming quickly," the woman announced, getting to her feet to stride towards the two men. "Your subtle ways of getting to her aren't enough."

The younger man nodded, before lifting his gaze to reveal eyes fully black as night. "I understand," he assured her. "And I have an idea, which could be a large risk, but I'll need you to restore my eyes to do it."

"Very well," the woman agreed with a nod, waving her hand across the man's face and changing their appearance, making him even more human. "We need what she knows. Get it from her."

"You're sure that's wise?" the grey man asked, arching an eyebrow at her as the second man disappeared in another cloud of smoke. "Bringing her here could attract unwanted attention from a certain king, if not a certain large rodent."

The woman gave him a sly smile. "I doubt it will," she promised. "After all, the last attempt to get the girl did render us one. She just happened to be the wrong one. And if they aren't looking into that, they won't look into this."

_**A/N:**__ Well that took a while. And we're now going to move on with the plot! Lol there might be side stories I'll write eventually, but we'll see. ^_^_


	27. Chapter 27

**It Happened in a Mousedom (part 27)**

The next day was just as bright, beautiful, and warm as the days before at the Grand Floridian. Which saw Jenny and Dan sneaking away from the royal children to enjoy the sunshine in one of the resort's roofless cars. With the radio crooning out jazz and swing, the pair cruised the lush and exotic countryside that surrounded the property. A better day could not be had.

Or, that is, until they managed to get a flat tire.

"How on earth did that happen?" Dan wondered, rubbing the back of his head as he looked around at the dusty road. "There's not a thing out here!"

Jenny shrugged, fighting down her amusement. "Perhaps the tires needed replacing? Happens frequently enough in the Studios."

"Yes, well, out there they use cars for stunts," Dan reminded, though a wry smile came to his face as he crouched down by the front passenger wheel.

She returned the smile with her own bright one as she knelt in her seat to lean over the door and examine the deflated wheel with him. "Do you need any help?"

Dan looked up with a raised eyebrow. "Why? Are you getting a memory about working with auto-mechanics?"

Letting out a little laugh, Jenny wrinkled her nose at him. "No," she said, leaning further over the door. "But it is possible! I knew a girl who worked at a garage off Sunset once."

He looked impressed as he sat back on his heels, then gave her a smirk. "See? You did remember something about auto-mechanics," he pointed out. "Just not you being the one fixing."

A breeze came along as she smiled down at him and Jenny quickly put a hand up to keep her hat still. But action made her gaze rise to take in the rest of the road and not too far away another car was ambling down the road. "Oh look!" she pointed out. "We may be saved yet."

Dan looked up too, then got to his feet as Jenny waved to flag the driver down. Soon enough he was standing along side a newer model of the car they'd borrowed with its driver tipping his hat in greeting. "Looks like you're in a bit of a spot," the man commented, nodding towards their car. "Need some help?"

"Uh, yes, we'd much appreciate it," Dan responded with a smile.

"Well, I won't say I'm a wizz with these things," the driver admitted. "But let's give it a look."

Jenny got out of the car as the two joined her. She gave them a smile, though she couldn't help watching the way their good "Samaritan" walked. It was a nearly lazy saunter, something of a stroll that stood out as much as his bright white suit did in the warm afternoon sun. Along with his well-oiled hair and trimmed mustache, he looked like a man of position with the air of a salesman.

"Good afternoon, Miss," the man said, tipping his hat again and bowing a little as he smiled at Jenny. "You're looking mighty fine in that shade of yellow. I say, have we met before?"

Her face burned with warmth that she was more than sure didn't come from the blazing sun above her and she gave him a cordial smile back. "I don't think so, but thank you for stopping to help."

"Oh anytime!" the driver said, continuing to smile as he pulled off his suit jacket to drape it over the car door. "Especially if it means helping out such fine people as yourselves."

The man gave Jenny a wink, then turned to crouch by the wheel. Jenny put a hand to her cheek to calm the blush as Dan watched her from the corner of his eye. There was something strange about the man that Jenny couldn't seem to put her finger on, but it was twisting her stomach in knots.

"Yep," the man announced. "Definitely looks like you caught the pointy edge of something in here."

"Apparently," Dan commented.

Jenny glanced at him, hearing a strange note in his voice, but the brown haired man was still looking down at the tire.

"No worries," the man announced, standing again and dusting his hands off on his slacks. "I think I've got some tools in the trunk. We'll have this fixed in no time."

"Great, thank you," Jenny said, still maintaining her smile.

"Anything for you, sweetheart," the man told her, adding a wink as he sauntered off to his own car.

The pet name sent an unfounded chill down her spine. As though she'd been called that before, and it didn't have anything good linked to it. In fact, by the way her stomach felt like it was going in knots, she was fairly sure it was entirely the opposite. Still, it was in her personality as well as her training to smile and be friendly, so she simply moved further away as the two men worked on changing out the tire.

It was maybe half an hour later that Dan and the motorist finally stood up victorious and wiped their brows. Jenny sighed in relief, her smile growing as her eyes met Dan's. After such a long time in the sun, she definitely wouldn't mind joining the royal children in the pool. And judging by how sweaty he'd gotten, she doubted Dan would object to that. Though, it had done him good. Somehow-with his hair slightly messed, missing his jacket and hat, vest undone and face flushed with sun and activity-Dan looked incredibly handsome.

Jenny's face heated up further and she quickly looked away as though checking on Dan's outerwear where it had been laid across the back seat.

"Well that was a fine amount of trouble," the motorist announced with a chuckle, using a handkerchief to wipe his hands clean. "Want me to follow you folks back to where you're stayin? Just in case?"

"I think we can manage," Dan said, attempting to put himself back to order. "Thank you, though."

"A pleasure," the man said, retrieving his own straw hat. "And you're sure we've never met before?"

Jenny's blush returned and she shook her head, but it made her wonder. Had they met before?

"Well, then I best be on my way." With a small bow and tip of the hat before he replaced it on his head, the man strode back to his own car. "Maybe I'll see you again sometime!"

The couple could only nod with tight smiles as the other engine started and the motorist sped off down the road, creating a cloud of dust in his wake. They waited a moment, both staring down the road as they contemplated the meeting, before getting back in the car.

~~°o°~~

"That's very strange," Cinderella agreed, gently returning her tea cup to its saucer.

Jenny and Dan had made it back to the resort in time for tea in the garden room, which Jenny was quickly swept up to join the Queens and Princess Odette. Dan had opted out, choosing instead to join the kings and princes in whatever it was they were headed to do. The entire atmosphere around them had been strange as they drove back and still hadn't quite broken even as they'd made it to the hotel lobby. She still couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

"And this... man," Aurora said slowly. "You think you knew him?"

The secretary shrugged. "I can't explain it otherwise," she said, staring dismally into her own cup. "Everything about the motorist-I've seen it before. It was all... familiar to me."

Belle eyed her friend with a thoughtful frown. "Is that a good thing or a bad one?"

"I don't know," Jenny replied softly, looking up to meet the hazel eyes. The surrounding queens were perplexed, but Belle's sisterly bond with the girl alerted the brunette to the undercurrent of worry stirring inside Jenny that neither of the others could see.

But Jenny quickly brushed it off, pulling herself together to change the topic as she turned to Princess Odette and asked about the girl's new doll.

The queens exchanged glances of concern, though Belle's turned a little accusatory towards the end, but they graciously followed the secretary's lead in changing the topic to discuss plans that Marc had been making to take Anastasia to a private dinner. Apparently the two were getting fairly serious about being together.

As soon as she got a moment, Cinderella snuck away from their group on the pretense of tracking down her husband to discuss a change in dinner plans. But, in truth, she went off to find Mr Bennett. And she did. Dan had settled himself on the small porch off his room, facing the placid lake and it had taken the queen a long walk in order to spot him there.

"Mr Bennett," she called cheerfully, happy to not go tromping through any more grass-her shoes were already slipping off her feet. "I was wondering where you'd gone off to!"

He nodded, giving her a polite smile. "I apologize, your majesty. I didn't know I was missed."

Cinderella frowned curiously at the phrasing and the strange look on the man's face, but when his eyes met hers she quickly pulled a smile on. "Of course," she encouraged. "Jenny told us you had an interesting morning-that man you met certainly set her on edge."

Something flickered across Dan's eyes too quickly for the queen to read, but he seemed a little less tense as he nodded. "With good enough reason," he agreed. "But those sort are just Jim-Dandies-out to spread their form of... congenial ways through the world, I suppose."

"At least he was able to help with the tire," Cinderella offered, sensing well enough that the man mentioned wasn't a happy thought. "I'd have sent Charming after the two of you if you weren't back by tea, of course."

Dan gave her another smile. "Thank you, your majesty. I appreciate it."

Cinderella gave him another smile, but soon let it drop to look at him sincerely. "Is there something wrong, Mr Bennett?"

"What? Oh, uh, no," he said quickly. "No, everything's fine."

"Dan," Cinderella said as gently as though she were talking to her son. "You can talk to me, you know."

He gave her a strained smile, but sighed. "It's just-today it felt like, for the first time, that helping her remember," he pieced together slowly. "It might take her away."

~~°o°~~

With so much vacation left, it was very easy to practically forget the man on the road. With Kristen still missing and the royal children evading the following nanny expertly, Jenny and Dan tended to find themselves entertaining the children more often than not. Mornings were filled with doing things like riding bicycles and afternoons in the pool or on the sand. The evenings held delicious dinners and a wide variety of music that was enjoyed by the adults before retiring to sleep on beds that might as well have been clouds. One day, after the children were disappointed yet again for not being able to stay up, Dan surprised them all by sitting at the lobby's piano for an hour or more playing tunes for the happy trio.

On their final night, the Grand Floridian held a dance in their lobby with the orchestra playing merrily above. It was a common thing for Saturdays, to be sure, but Jenny had a sneaking suspicion that an added effort had been put into this particular evening due to the royal families. Which wasn't a bad thing, of course. And it resulted in what Jenny could easily say was her favorite night at the resort.

The evening was filled with laughter and music that didn't always require a beat. It was as though all cares just floated out the window and across the lake. Everyone was more invested in having a good time rather than keeping pretenses. In fact, as soon as the band struck up its first swing melody, King Adam took hold of Jenny's hand and all but pulled her to the dance floor where he danced wildly for all the guests to see. And his hilarious antics soon got Jenny to let go too, at least enough to not mind when her partner changed to King Charming for the following melody.

For a while Dan watched her, keeping his distance to the edge of the lobby as he marveled at the glow she carried while dancing with partner after partner. He had to fight down a laugh as Dorian tried to lead Jenny in a modified version of a waltz of some kind to a song that was decidedly too fast for it. Which, of course, lead little Stephan to demand that she hold him for the next dance, during which he fell asleep.

Jenny was still all smiles as Aurora freed her from the little boy's hold. She took a minute to take in the scene around her. All the happy people, guests and employees alike, sharing in the good times and music. Then her eyes fell on Dan, on his lopsided smile, and she smiled back.

He wasn't sure how, but in moments he'd joined her on the dance floor. The melody of her laughter over took any sound a horn or violin could make, sounding sweeter and more enticing than any song in the world. Like with everything else about her, it seemed to boost his courage like fire and he was soon laughing too as he spun her in their dance.

It was hours later before Dan escorted Jenny back to her room, both trying to quiet their giggles in the hallway as they made plans of visiting Hollywood Studios for her next weekend off. Then after their final good night, which included a kiss on the hand that made her blush a bright pink, Jenny found she still couldn't drop the smile from her face as she leaned against the door and listened to his footsteps retreating down the hall.

When all sounds gave way to the quiet of the night, Jenny finally pushed off from the door, still dancing a few steps as she started preparing for bed. A quick shower later, Jenny had stopped humming the night's final tune as she focused on the massive tangle that was her hair. And even in her frustration, she couldn't help the wry laugh that came with realizing that curly haired people were right about the hassle.

A thought that gave her pause, but she was in too happy a mood to think on it for long as she abandoned the challenge all together and deposited the brush onto the bedside table. Even with it being so late at night and being fairly tired, sleep just didn't feel like happening. So instead, she went out onto her little balcony to enjoy the stars just a little while longer.

A energetic and gentle breeze caught up a few of her unruly curls to dance. The sky was a clear blue and the stars twinkled happily in their constellations. The lagoon was the most beautiful she'd ever seen it. But her attention was drawn to a singular rose that was resting on the rail. Its pale purple petals glowing in the light from her room, making it stand out all the more against the dark night.

Slowly she picked it up and held it gingerly in her hand, almost afraid it wasn't real, but even more amazed that it was. She couldn't fathom why he'd go through such lengths to make her smile, but he did every time. Breathing in the faintly sweet scent, Jenny sank down into the small wicker chair just outside the door.

"Thank you, Dan," she whispered, holding the rose close as she stared up at the stars.

Below the balcony, on the garden path just one floor down, Dan watched her reaction. Then, with his hands in his pockets, he turned towards his own room.

With a smile on his face.

_**A/N**__: And we're going to be focusing a bit more soon! I've got so many side stories, I can't even begin to fit them all in this one, which is killing me! lol Otherwise, sorry for the time it's taking to write. Not only is life happening, but I'm pretty sure my brain is deteriorating from it. *sigh* I'm also working on a laptop from 2003. O_o Improvements to come!... we hope..._


End file.
